Smash Brothers: Blood Ties (New Version)
by fire assassin
Summary: It has been two years since the Nathan Graves incident in the last Smash tournament. Now as champion, James Artemis prepares himself to defend his title against fighters, both new and old. Before he has a chance to do so however, a new evil reveal itself. Determined to stop it, James sets out to confront, but he will find that this is a battler will test his and his ties of blood.
1. Chapter 1

**Well I finally did it. My computer is up and running for now, and Microsoft Word is acting right too. I can't begin to tell you the uphill battle I went just to get this thing up and running, as well as the crap that I dealt with besides my computer troubles.**

 **In any case, I can now write the story and do so without using that crappy laptop I wrote on before. Hopefully nothing happens where that will change, wouldn't want to deal with that crap again.**

 **Besides my nagging, it's now finally time to get started on the story. I won't lie when I say that I have been thinking about it for a while. I will give all of you a fair warning when I say that the story will be a bit darker and taken a little bit more seriously. It won't start off that way, I assure you, but once we get to the later chapters, things will start to head to the rated M levels due to cursing of certain characters and some fight scenes. Also, it's important to read the first story as there will be may call backs to the event that happened there.**

 **Ps: Thanks again to Thunder Crush for being the beta reader.**

 **With that out of the way, lets finally get started.**

* * *

Shouting… loud and every distance shouting, sounding off from far right rang into my ears as my eyes struggled to open.

Slowly, as well as painfully, I opened my eyes to be greeted by what looked like a golden sky, masked with grey clouds. The smell of smoke entered my lungs, causing me to cough it out quickly with pain rattling in my throat.

The sound from before was getting closer, so I turned to look for the cause.

Far-off in the distance stood a figure, walking menacingly towards me with slow yet heavy steps. Upon gaining more clarity in my blurred vision, I could make out a ghastly black aura radiating off him, rising higher and higher. At first, I thought it was just growing with the distance he covered, coming closer to my view. As I continued my gaze however, I soon realized that the deadly black mist was growing on its own. So much so that it was ready to kiss the clouds themselves.

 **"It is time…"** a voice uttered.

I fixed my gaze back to the figure, who, was now closer than he was before. It stared down at me with eyes blazing with violet light, as if it was trying to inveigh its very emotion through them. An emotion so familiar, as well as powerful. So dangerous like a flame, yet ever reliable in the face with the coming storms of conflict.

That emotion was hatred. Pure, utter hatred.

 **"Stand Black King, show me the power that burns fiercely in your eternal soul! Face me, face me here and now!"**

The words that came from the figure flew to my ears and awoke something inside me, a strength buried within just now waking up.

With a loud and painful grunt, I turned to my side, slowly turning more until I was on my stomach. Pushing myself off the ground, I placed one foot in front of the other and rose. Through the pain and struggle of it all, I was finally standing tall, looking directly at the one before me.

Its eyes arched in anger, the glow brimming and shining with the embers of life behind them. Faintly the glow led to lines and markings of the figure, flaring up more like that of a burning fire that hit oil. Its hand clenched tightly as it took slow steps towards me, looking like a predator ready to attack.

It was clear to me that this could be a confrontation that I would not survive, that this may indeed be my last fight.

Fear, pain or even rage did not exist in my heart. Funny enough, I felt something a bit comforting at the thought of it all, a feeling that I haven't felt for a long time. Right here, at this very moment, as I looked at the one who would in doubt be my end, I felt as peace.

With a sense of resolve, I began to take steps towards the figure, who began to speed up his pace. I sped up as well, closing or distance faster, only for him to pick up his pace more, causing me to do the same. All the while, a golden glow soon engulfed me, empowering me in its light as it shined more and more over time.

Taking notice of this, I could see my opponent beginning to run, aiming to finish me quickly as I was in my weakened state. The power in me rose further as I too began to run, and soon even sprint, toward the figure. Sensing the increase of my power, the figure's aura rose high and exploded in power also, dashing towards me in speeds that would put light to shame.

Be it by instinct or reflex, I dashed in a similar speed, not letting have a head start towards me.

Our eyes locked as we raised our fists, our aura of life decimating the ground below our very feet. Once we were close enough, we simultaneously launched our fists straight towards one another, our power overflowing, turning in to a large flash of white.

* * *

"Ah!" I yelled as I awoke from my sleep, covered in sweat as I sat up fast enough to almost launch myself across the room.

My breathing became rampant as I blinked, taking notice of where I was. I was in my bedroom, on my bed with my covers draped over my lower half. I looked to the ceiling to see that the fan was still spinning as the way I left it when I fell asleep. To my left I could see my nightstand, with some of my items on it. My 'bracelet' that I received from Ethan, Ally and Diana was there, as well as the bronze wolf ring I got from Michelle.

Moving my eyes further, I saw that the clock read 4:57 AM. I sighed as I used my left hand to grab the bridge of my nose in frustration. _'Damn it, this has to be the eighth time.'_

Frustrated over waking up this early… again, I shook my head a little to get the sleepiness out of my eyes. I might as well get up anyway, never been able to get back to sleep once I have another of those damn dreams.

Slowly lifting my leg off the bed, I heard a murmur next to me. I turned my head to see one of the best things in my life. My wife, Faye.

I smiled as I looked at her, sleeping so soundly. She was always a heavy sleeper now that I thought about, so much so that I am convinced that not even an earthquake could wake her up. In fact, now that I think about it, there was that one time when I fell down the stairs and screamed loud enough to even Rachel. She and Thea came running to see if I was alright almost as soon as my rear hit the floor. I was fine of course, though I did promise myself to never let Joe talk me into to a drinking game again. That $50 bet sounded good in the beginning, but once you get the entire bar on the bet, with someone proclaiming that you can hold you liquor more everyone there, them banking on the fact that having the blood (or soul more technically) of a divine figure running within you makes you severely tolerant to alcohol to the point where rocket fuel can't even get you buzzed (Don't ask. Long story trust me), you kind of begin to regret it. Nonetheless, I won and came out the winner. Barely able to take a step without wobbling, but a winner still.

I smiled upon the memory as I bent down a bit and gave a kiss to her forehead before I stood up from the bed and got out of the room. Since it's almost five, I guess it would be good to go and see my morning buddy while eating some cookies and milk. First thing first, I need to go to the bathroom and wash my face.

Leaving my room, I venture to the end of the hall and opened the door. There I turned on the faucet and splashed some water onto my face, then grabbed a towel off the rack to dry it off. It was only when I was done that I looked to the mirror and looked at my reflection. Gone were the scars from years past, reveling my body, fair white in color. My hair was black, reaching to the end of neck and only a little bit of spikiness that it had remaining, as most of them became small bangs due to the new hair style Faye wanted to try on me. Then there were my eyes, or eye rather, as my left eye stayed closed with only my right green eye open.

 _'It's only been two years, yet I feel like a completely different person from who I was.'_

I shut the water off as I went out of the bathroom and continue my trip to go and talk to my morning buddy. Walking down the stairs and taking a right turn, I opened the fridge and grabbed the milk with one hand and used the other to grab the chocolate chip cookies with the other on top of it. Once I placed it on the table, I went to cabinet and grabbed a glass out of it. The second I closed it I heard a sound from behind causing me to turn to see my morning partner, sitting right by my feet. Her lilac fur and purple eyes, as well as the red gem on her head always made her stand out.

"Hey Thea." I said with a small grin as she mewed in recognition.

Thea has been with us for nearly two years now, all the way back to when she hatched as an Eevee. I was a bit worried at first, thinking that having a pokemon would be too much for my little girl to handle. However, to my surprise, Rachel was able to take great care of Thea. Or rather Alethea I should say.

Yeah, I remember how in the beginning we were trying to come up with a name for her, and eventually Faye came up with Alethea. We took the name, even going as far as making a bowl with her name on it. Problem was though, mainly because I am so use to coming up with nicknames, I kept calling her Thea to shorten it. I did it for so long that it reached the point that she responded to the nickname better than her real name.

This hit more at home the minute she evolved to an Espeon, which I later found out was a pokemon that evolved mainly through happiness in the day time. The reason why? Turns out the name Thea is Greek for a sun goddess, meaning that I have a named a pokemon that evolution revolved around the rise of the sun after a goddess that controls the sun.

For some reason, I just can't get a break with Greek names.

Returning my thoughts back to the present, I went to the bowl that held Thea's name and pour some milk in it, then grabbing it and putting it on the table. With that done, I sat down and grabbed my cookies as Thea hopped to the table and began licking away at the milk.

"Are you doing well this morning girl?"

She stopped for second and looked at me, giving a quick nod before getting back to the milk. I decided to go ahead and get started on my food, dipping some cookies in milk and began chomping away.

It's been like this for nearly a month now, me waking up early and eating some sweets with Thea. Supposedly, Espeons had precognitive powers as well as the ability to read thoughts. I always assumed that Thea might have known about the dreams I have been having since I couldn't stop thinking about them, so she would show up and give me company in my most private moments. I am honestly happy to have some really, I really do need someone that I can talk to about it…even if they can't talk back.

"So far, I had about nineteen dreams, with today being the eight one in the row. I know by now that this is Noir's memories, but they all feel so real to me. Honestly Thea, I feel like I am kind of losing it with all these dreams."

The Espeon looked at me as I said this, blinking for a bit as I lean back on my chair. Staring at the ceiling, asking myself the same question again: _'Why am I not telling anyone about this again?'_

And, once again, I remember why: Because if I did, I would cause them to worry about me again. Since the fight with Graves, I've been over to Master Hands place, asking repeatedly about seeing if he can find exactly where Noirs home was. I never asked Shade about his home or what happened after the death of his son and Blackout, so the thought has been on my mind for a while.

It became so apparent to how often it's on my mind that everyone started to worry. Daniel came up with a theory, saying that since I gained Noir's power, I am gaining traits from him. One of the traits could be his concern for his home, which I seem to have inherited. That still doesn't explain the dreams though, as well as another problem that I've been hiding.

Speaking of which, it seems that the problem is kicking up right now as I looked at my right arm. My arm, the black arm that belonged to Noir and given to me by his father Shade, began to ache as the green markings glowed faintly again.

It's not a discomfort for me to be honest, it only feels like my arm is a little numb. The real problem is that it has been doing this so frequently that I had to use the glamour ability to keep it out of sight, even from my family. So far, the only one that knows this is my morning buddy Thea, but that's only because she kept poking at my arm whenever I glamoured it. Thankfully I think she understands that I want to keep it a secret, but every once in a while, she would-

"Espe."

I looked back at the pokemon, who moved from her spot and is right in front of me. She is looking at me right in the eye, giving me the very same look that she would give every once and a while whenever I think like this. It's obvious that she basically telling me to 'Just go and tell them and let them help you'.

"You really want me to go ahead and tell them, huh?"

She nods, still giving me that look. Honestly there are times where I think Thea is more of Faye's pokemon than Rachel's. She sure can act like Faye when it comes to this matter, hell I even feel like I'm talking to her at times like this. I wouldn't be surprised if she and Faye have similar meetings like this one too, just watching TV. or something while I was gone and Rachel at school.

"Oh fine, I'll tell them alright. Just stop looking at me like that okay. Honestly, you're supposed to be Rachel's Pokemon, not mine."

Thea must have been happy about that because she licked my cheek and gave off a smile of sorts. Before I could even do anything, her gem and eyes glowed red as her bowl lifted to the air surrounded by red aura. She jumped off the table and walked out the room with the bowl not far behind, but not before giving me one final nod. Sitting there all alone, I just chuckled as I finished my food and got up to leave myself.

Once I was by the living room, I noticed the time was 5:43 AM. Well, I guess I might as well go and pay an early visit to Master Hand, if he is awake that is. I kind of made a habit of going to the Smash training grounds early in the morning.

Master Hand mentioned that I could go over there any time I wanted to practice with the bots, computer-based duplicates of all the previous participants. At first, I thought of it as cheating, fighting computer-based duplicates of what could be future participants. However, Master Hand was adamant in me practicing, saying I need to keep my skills sharp as champion. He was so adamant about it in fact that he even came to my house and offered to have a room set up, so I could train from home. The offer almost too good to pass up, but I told him that I would just use the Smash training room. I know that it sounds stupid to not take up the offer, but I do have my reasons.

It didn't take long for me to get my things, as I went ahead and grabbed my clothes from the closet and put on the attire I received two years ago. Black shoes with small green stripes, bluish-black pants that was darker at the bottom with lines at the sides, my dark green short sleeved shirt just under my black jacket with green wings insignias on the back, with the small details of golden wings with swords in the middle on my shoulders, with small pockets for items and zippers to widen the sleeves.

Almost done, I slowly walked back to the bed, taking notice that Faye was still asleep. A small chuckle came out of me as I kneeled and placed my hand under the bed. Feeling around a bit, I found what I was looking for, taking out a large box. I slowly open it to reveal its contents that were inside.

Neatly placed within it were a sword and a gun. The sword was black, with a height at about 140 centimeters, with a red jewel that was a little bit above the handle, in the middle. An interesting yellow line was on it too, right from the bottom to the tip, with a faint red line in the center of it. Next was the gun, which was a silver magnum revolver, with a black handle and a green tip at the end. These two were my new weapons, Golden dawn and Night Shooter respectfully.

I picked up the two as I grabbed my custom holster. It was a good thing that Daniel knew someone that could make belts and holsters for weapons, else I would have to use other means to carry my weapons around.

After putting the two in their respected holsters, I quietly walked out of the room, lightly shutting the door. I was now ready to head out, but before I do, I have one last thing to do.

Walking through the halls, I stopped to a door to my left. I silently turned the knob and opened the door a bit, looking inside.

The room was fairly normal; a shade of cream colored the walls, with decorations of what looked to be small posters, each with a cartoon character or an adorable animal. The floor was a dark blueish carpet, cleaned with not a speck of anything unclean on it. Looking around a bit more, I could see a TV sitting on a dresser, with another dresser in the back part of the room near the wall. Finally, I could see the corner, where there was a small chest of white and pink, with toys inside.

But what really stood out was something on the bed, or rather someone. Someone that is very important to me, sleeping with her white covers on her, looking completely innocent with no care in the world. One of my pride and joys in this world, my daughter Rachel. A young child with red hair, no older than six.

A smile came to my face, right before I felt something on my leg. I looked down and saw Thea, who nudge my leg to make me notice her.

"Hey, going back to bed?"

Understanding me with ease, she nods as she went to Rachel's bed and slyly jumped to the foot of it. Slowly, the sat down and lay on her belly with her arms under her chin. Looking at me one more time, she closed her eyes as I quietly shut the door.

With it closed I made a turn to the door opposite from Rachel's. I opened the door and looked inside. The room was a bit like Rachel's, only it was blue in color and not cream. The posters were mainly that of stars and animals that caught the attention to the person that slept here. There were only a few toys here, such as a rattle and a small toy. Honestly there wasn't much to it besides the stroller to the left and a dresser by the wall at the right. In the center, however, was a crib that held something precious.

Taking light steps, I looked down to see a sleeping baby, with black hair on his head. He was holding to his favorite toy, a stuffed giraffe that we found at Toys R Us. This was my son, Jacob.

"Sleeping well, huh champ?" I asked playfully. I remember when he was born, coming out like any other baby, with all ten fingers and toes, clutching on to anyone's finger that was close to his little hand. He's only a little over a year old, still growing nicely this past year. Honestly, I am happy, he came out alright, fine, completely normal.

In my thoughts, I was slow to notice that he grabbed my finger. I smiled at the action, up until I saw that he held on to finger on my right hand, my black and un-glamoured right hand.

Seeing this, I slowly retracted my hand without waking him up and walked out the door, quietly shutting it. Once I did, I raised my right hand, a look of perplexation and shame on my face. How did I not notice that my glamour was off? I know I was distracted but after two years I thought I had control over this thing. Could it be that Jacob might have…?

 _'No. That just plain stupid. Jacob is a normal baby, there is nothing wrong. I just slipped up is all. Maybe some training will help me get my focus back.'_

Shaking my head, I slowly walked out to the front door and opened it, locking it behind me. I turned and took a breath of fresh air, enjoying the sight as I see the sun slowly making it's rise.

 _'Okay, how should I get there today?'_ I thought to myself. _'I could teleport there like I did last time.'_

Teleporting to the Smash area was frankly easy, as Master Hand gave me and the others devices that would allow us to get there. Everyone can come in, train, eat and talk. However, only a select few can have unique privileges, such as advance training sessions, special meetings for the tournaments, and even first privileges to using any new mechanics, areas or vouching rights for new contestants you want to recommend being in the tournament.

Reaching to my pocket, I pulled out the device, which looked to be the Smash symbol with a simple button on it. I toss it up and catch it a few times, still thinking about using it. However, a thought occurred to me as I caught it one last time.

 _'Zio haven't really seen that much action, it would be good to at least come with me. He might even like it.'_

With that idea in my head, I pocketed the device and stick out my right arm. Closing my eye, I mentally focused as the arm glowed _. 'Zio, come to me. I would like your assistance in getting to the Smash Area, please.'_

The second my thought was done, I felt a gust of wind. I opened my eyes and was met with a large horse, with black metal made flesh, shining blue eyes and a flaming golden mane.

"Hello Zio. It's good to see you buddy," I greeted as I raised my hand and rubbed his head. He lowered it and closed his eyes, accepting my petting. Despite how he looks, Zio is a gentle creature, one that loves company and social conversation. He is great around the family, picking any slack that Thea missed and acting as a watchdog of sorts when it comes to the safety of the house.

Moving to his side, Zio kneeled down, allowing me to get on him with ease. Once I did, he rose and turned around.

"Alright buddy lets head to smash."

With a nod, Zio began to run only for a field to envelop us. Then, almost instantly, we became a blur, only for us to appear in a large area filled with tables everywhere and several large TV monitors on the wall. I looked around and got off Zio, recognizing the room.

'Looks like we are in the lobby area. And, of course, I am the only one here.'

Just then, a voice spoke out. "Morning James." Hearing it, I turned and smiled at a familiar face.

There stood a woman who looked to be in her thirties, wearing her white, long sleeved buttoned up shirt, black skirt, red framed glasses and red heels. Her skin was white, though a bit less than mine, as she had chocolate brown eyes, red lipstick and light brown hair in a pony tail.

"Hello Raven. Nice to see you on this fine morning."

She nodded with a small grin as she looked at me and then to Zio. "Hey there Zio. Are you staying to watch James train?"

The large horse looked at her and nodded.

"Alright then. Come on gentlemen, follow me." With that, she turned around and began walking as me and Zio followed her.

"So how are you doing Raven? You busy helping Master Hand with the next Tourney?"

"Yes actually. The other A.I's and I have been looking for possible candidates for next week's tournament. So far, we found a good deal of new contestants, some of which I bet will give you a run for your money in a fight."

"Oh?" I responded in surprise. "Sounds like you think I'm going to lose my championship title already."

Upon hearing this, Raven shook her head and chuckled. "Of course, not James, I was just joking. I have confidence in your skills. I am just saying that you shouldn't try and take it easy when next week comes. These newcomers are pretty strong, so don't be afraid to go all out okay?"

Still just as sly as ever. Raven was always a bit more unique than the rest of the A.I's, showing more personality and tact than the others. I never asked Master Hand how the A.I's came to be or how they even differ from one another. At times I like to think that maybe each one is based on certain characteristics and tropes. Personally, I always thought Raven was based off a teacher or business type trope, given she always makes it feel she is in control and knows more than what you are led to believe. Well, that and the outfit kind of sell it too.

"Alright, we're here."

Raven's words snapped me out from my thoughts. I looked and saw that we are right in front of the door that leads to the training room.

With a wave of her hand, the doors open, leading to a large and open area filled with white. "Alright James," she said as I saw her wave her hand once more, causing a small menu to appear before her. "What will it be today? Volcanic stage? Forest area? Maybe even the good old classic final destination?"

"Hm… well how about you make it a surprise?"

I guess she must have had something in mind because she flashed me a small grin to that statement. "Alright then. This one will be something I am sure you remember well."

After saying that, she snapped her fingers, making that area glow in light, making me shield my eyes for a moment. Once it died down, I looked at what the change was, only to grow a small smile.

We were in the center of a large coliseum, with cheers of people from the stands being heard all around me. The sky was bright, with no clouds in the sea of endless blue, all while the cool air blew against my skin. I remember this area quite well. This was the first stage I fought in two years ago. The memory of fighting against Roy for my introduction into the world of Smash Bros. brought me a great sense of nostalgia.

Of all the stages here, this one is something that feels the most personal to me.

"Got to say Raven, you chose a good stage."

"Well of course I did. I don't make mistakes." Raven's smugness showed after that statement, something that I think she is a bit proud of to be honest. "Now then, which session do you feel like today?"

Hm… well I feel like I am ready to tackle something more difficult now. Maybe I will do a session I haven't done in a while.

"Let's do the Classic Gauntlet Run, this time on level 9. And just to make this interesting, give me only one stock, with three rounds."

Looking at Raven's face for any reaction, I could see that she was surprised for a split second, before regaining her composure. "That one huh? The last time you did that, you needed to use a stock."

"Yeah, well that was an off day for me, plus I have gotten stronger since then. I am confident that I can win this without using a stock this time."

Raven gave a small chuckle to that. "Alright then, let's see just how far you've come champ."

With that, she vanished as the gates at the sides opened. I looked around and saw the very people that made up the run. Mario, Link, Samus, Fox, Kirby, Donkey Kong, Yoshi and Pikachu. The original and classic eight that made up the very first Smash Bros. tournament. Each one of them were gray clones of the very fighters that I knew of, yet they were just as strong, or so I was told.

Funny enough, I remember asking about Cap. Falcon, Luigi, Ness and Jigglypuff being in it, mainly because I heard that they were part of the original tournament back then. Master Hand mentioned that they were, so much so that they were even in the poster for the first tournament. Problem was that personal issues caused them not to be able to show, such as Cap having a race, Luigi needing to and see about a mansion he won, Ness going to some camping trip and Jigglypuff being outright MIA (Master Hand suspected Jigglypuff thought that it was a singing tournament, but went into hiding once they found out it was a fighting tournament).

'Okay then, let's get started.'

On reflex, I grabbed my sword and unsheathed it, looking around the eight that circled around me. My body felt ready to move, with my right hand giving out a faint green glow. The beating in my chest was calm, yet I could feel the blood rushing through my body, preparing me for battle. Even my senses were on point, hearing each grain of grain move with each step, watching each minor movement that they made as they walked closer to me.

I was ready.

And apparently, so were they as Mario stated it off with a fire ball. I dodged by jumping to the side and reacted by grabbing Night Shooter, charging it with my power and shooting right at Mario. The gray clone of Link used his shield to block it, though the hit was enough to make him slide back.

I didn't have time to try again as I dodged a blast from Samus from behind. I leapt to the air and twisted around to take shots at her. She dodged them with ease, shooting back at me with her arm cannon, with Fox taking cue as he took shots of his own with his gun.

'It's not going to be that easy.'

Using my sword, I slashed at the blasts, cutting both in two, making them split and deflect. Good thing I did too, as I felt Pikachu racing towards me with a Quick Attack, only to be hit by one of the deflected blasts.

Once I landed, I raised my right arm to block a punch from Donkey Kong, having my black arm take the hit. I guess the blow must have hurt his hand, because I took a quick notice of his face and saw him grimace in pain.

My ear twitched, hearing a familiar sound from my left. Not wasting the opportunity, I took Kong's arm, grabbed on tight and tossed him to the other side, right in front of Yoshi's outstretched tongue.

The large ape got swallowed up by the green dinosaur, who looked shocked at the fact that he had the wrong target.

Not missing a beat, I charged my sword with the red gem, the Eye of Dragoon, given to me by Daniel, making blade charge with red like flame in the center line of it. Giving out my best swing, I hit Yoshi, as well as Donkey Kong who was still inside, with a slash strong enough to send them flying into the sky and disappearing with a twinkle.

'Two down with one swing. That's a new record.'

Immediately I felt a difference in the air, making me raise my sword to block a full swing from Link from behind. Pushing him off, I spun around and round out a heavy hit with my right arm, only to hit his shield.

I raised it again, causing him to put his shield up higher, which is what I hoped for as I used my speed to get behind him in a flash and delivered a heavy back hand to his head, causing him to hit the ground hard.

It was at that second I saw a faint shadow on the ground below me causing me to step back as a grey block with eyes hit the ground from where I once stood, something I knew all to well being Kirby.

It was then that noticed Link getting back on his feet and I took the opportunity to act. Right before he could change, I hit Kirby with a right straight so hard that I sent him still in brick form directly towards Link, hitting the unfortunate fairy.

They were sent tumbling backwards, but just to make sure they were finished I dashed in and slashed the ground hard, performing my Shadow Geyser, sending them out of the Coliseum.

'Four down.'

"PIKA!"

Well I know that voice and what comes after. I rolled out of the way of a Thunder Bolt only to come face to face with Fox's boot.

I moved my head out of way of the attack and gave him a kick to his standing leg making him fall. Instinctively, I made a grab for his leg and swung the fox like a rag doll, hitting Pikachu down to the ground after he tried another Quick Attack.

It was at that moment I felt heat come towards my right, so I moved fox to that side, using him as a living shield for Mario's fire ball. Normally, I would call this a dirty move, but honestly, I think doing this with training bots don't count.

Anyway, I heard another shot behind me, making me use Fox as a shield again, this time against charged blast from Samus. At this point, Fox's fur was singed and becoming black after taking all those hits.

Before I could even have a second to feel bad for the poor bot, I saw Pikachu making a go for another Lightning Bolt. I wish I could say that I didn't use fox to hit him again, but at this point I think it was obvious that I did.

Both were in the air after the hit connected, giving me time to deal with both Mario and Samus running toward me. The armored bot fired off several shots, making me dodge some and block the others with my right arm.

After the sixth shot, I heard Mario fist coming for my head. Another opportunity presented itself as I swung my sword upwards, send him to the air and knocking both Fox and Pikachu higher.

Returning my attention to Samus, I dashed with enough speed that made the bot recoil in surprise.

Clenching my right arm, I delivered a strong uppercut, sending her to the air with the others.

'Perfect.'

They were all in the air, and not that far from each other. I lifted my sword, the red flames of Dragoon flaring up, and stabbed the ground hard, making a super red variation of my Shadow Geyser. The attack was high enough to hit them all, sending them all to the air and vanishing in a twinkle.

Raising my sword, I heard the crowd cheer. I turned to see Raven sitting on a seat, with Zio close by. Feeling a little bit cocky, I made a small bow to Raven.

"Perfect, James. That was perfect. You really have gotten stronger."

"Well of course. I have been training non-stop for two years straight, getting stronger day by day. There is no way that I was going to stay stagnant and let everyone surpass me."

The A.I gave me a smile as she sat down. "Alright, the bots should be coming back so-"

"Yeah, about that." I cut her off, making her look at me in a perplexing gaze. "Could you add in some more. Perhaps all the participants from the second tournament?"

It was at that point Raven's face changed into an expression that I have not seen since… well since ever. For the first time, she gave me a look of surprise as her eyes widen and her mouth went agape.

"James… you are aware that there were about twenty-five contestants that were in that tournament, right? Twenty-six if you included the Sheik disguise that Zelda use."

Upon hearing that I nodded and smiled. A normal person would have second thoughts about the idea of fighting that many. Hell, I bet even a Smash veteran would only consider it if they had multiple stocks and items, but not me.

"Yeah, I know that. Believe me Raven, I know that it sounds insane, but I really do want this. I am already past the point of fighting eight fighters, and I need something more difficult to put me beyond my limits. Besides, I am the champion, right? I need to get as strong as possible, to become a wall for anyone that wants the title. I can't let someone beat me out of luck or coincidence. If they want to become champion, then they are going to have to work hard for it. As for, it's the same. I am a target for every fighter who wants and piece of me and wants to become champion. I will be fighting against people that have powers and abilities that are beyond my imagination, maybe even stronger than Graves. So, I need to get ready, to prepare. I can't afford any training wheels or easy way outs. From here on in, it's the hard way, every day."

My words spoke of nothing but truth, with even Zio fixing his gaze on me. I guess he must agree with me, as I say him gave a small nod. My eyes moved to Raven, who at this point gave a bit of a laugh.

"Geez James, you take this more seriously than anyone else, you know that. I always knew that you were special back when I met you, but I never expected you to be like this."

Her laughter died down, until it eventually stopped. She then gave me a serious look, accompanied with a small grin. "Alright then. I'll help you out. I want to see just how far you will go. Now, let's get started. It's time to begin round two."

* * *

…Darkness… the endless and ever blinding darkness

Again, I am greeted by this haunting yet ever so inviting darkness upon opening my eyes. Once i do, i feel the very same pain coursing through my body, the pain that i felt from perhaps my greatest fight in the past.

Despite all this time, i can still feel every blow that was given to me from that day. Every punch, kick, slash, blast and everything else that he threw at me still aches, though not fully. If memory serves, i believe this is what they call Phantom Pains.

 _Strange though. I only began to receive them after waking up. Why is that so?_

My thoughts began to die down once i begin to gain hold of my bearings. Though I do not see room, I am still fully aware of where I am: sitting on a large chair, resting my hands on the armrest. I place my head to my hand, shaking slowly to get rid of my exhaustion. As I do, I hear a voice in the darkness, one that I take comfort in hearing.

"Was it the dream again?"

"…Yes. It seems that they are coming more often."

While I may not be able to see it, I can tell that the owner of the voice had a concerned look on their face. "Is there anything that I can do for you?"

"No. Return your attention to the task at hand. I will be fine."

For a moment, I could feel their desire to speak again. In a way, I almost want them to, but we both know that the task I have given to them is more important.

"As you wish, but please, do not be afraid to ask for anything you might need."

With that, I sensed them taking their leave, leaving me by myself once again.

I felt a breath of air leave my body in a sigh, mostly in one out of fatigue. These dreams… they come in more and more each passing day. It feels as if the days of the past are trying to tell me something, yet no matter how much I try I can't grasp what it is. Maybe it's a sign, a sign that something is coming, but what?

Coming up with no answer yet again, I ease up in my chair once more, trying to let my thoughts die down. Though I worry of having the dream again, I feel it's best to rest until I am fully awake.

I closed my eyes and thought of the dream just a bit more.

I can still feel the power, the rage and even the pain of that day. Even after all these years that day is something that I remember clearly. I still think though, did he survive? Did he somehow make it through the battle and left just as I did? Could I have been mistaken on that day?

Once again, as I do every day after the dream, I speak the very same question:

"Noir… could it be that you still live?"

* * *

 **Okay, so that was the first chapter or the prologue to be honest. The next one will have the OC's showing up, as well as characters from the first story. Again, I am sorry for the wait. I will try to get the next chapter up sooner, so be on the lookout.**

 **Also, I say the Nintendo Direct for Smash Bros. Ultimate. I won't share how I feel about the game in the story, but I will be using the roster that has been made for the game. Now if that would include the five DLC characters, I personally hope not as Nintendo said that they will be in the game in almost a year. Now this story will be a long one, but I am not planning on letting it last a whole year.**

 **So yeah, that will be it for chapter one. See you later, Fire Assassin, out.**


	2. Chapter 2

"Are you sure you got everything?" asked a cautious Faye as her husband James began to walk outside to the backyard.

"Yes Faye, I am sure."

"You're positive? You have your phone?"

"Check."

"Weapons?"

"Check."

"Zio?"

James made a quick whistle with the black powerful steed showing up immediately.

"Check."

After hearing the answers she wanted, Faye nodded in understanding.

This is it the day of the new tournament. After two years of waiting, the day to smash has come once again. This time Faye and Rachel will be able to see it with the TV setup that Master Hand's A.I's did.

Truth be told both girls really wanted to be there in person. Over the past two years Faye and Rachel were told about all of the previous tournaments that had happened over the years, each one sounding more exciting than the last. There were also many different participants who would be there each one more different and unique than the last.

This week she was told by Peach that Chrom, Daisy and even a strange Pokémon called Incineroar would be there. The next day she was greeted by Samus, her small time work out buddy, telling her about a few of the newcomers that was showing up.

Two of the first newcomers were a pair of martial artists named Ryu and Ken. They are said to be hand to hand combatants who can use energy base attacks, Lucario's use of aura attacks.

Both were vouched by Captain Falcon, who made a strong argument saying that the Smash tournaments lacks characters of martial arts skills. At first Master Hand wasn't really considering it, however after seeing footage of Ryu fighting Sagat and Kens victory in the American martial arts tournament, he decided to go ahead and give them a shot.

Next was a woman named Beyonetta. From what Faye was told, she was a witch who could use her hair as a weapon, as well as many sets of weapons and forms of magic. At first Faye believed that she was like Samson from the old folklore, gaining power from her hair. However, that thought changed when she was told that her suit is composed of her hair, and that the more she uses it, lesser and lesser there was to hide her skin, less she become nude. Because of this, she made sure to remind James that if he fights her, he MUST beat her without letting it get that far. Maybe it's because she feels that something like this is ridiculous to do in battle, or that James's eye might wonder if a woman nearly nude stood in front of him, but she was adamant that he beat her as fast as possible and that he doesn't look at her if she uses her hair too much. Funny enough though, Faye was surprised to find out that Beyonetta was vouched by Peach of all people, with Zelda supporting it. One could only wonder why though?

The last newcomer was a man named Cloud Strife. Samus was excited when talking about this one, saying he might give James a run for his money when it came to swordsmanship. From what she was told, Cloud was a hero who saved his world from a man named Sephiroth, who tried to kill the planet with some sort of meteor and even fought him again when he would be revived.

Master Hand told Samus and the others that Sephiroth was likely that greatest swordsman on Cloud's world and that Cloud himself was arguably the 2nd best after beating him. Out of all the people that vouched for him to be in the tournament, it was James himself that did so.

"Alright Faye, I am off. Remember, I will be gone for a week so be sure to be keep an eye on the kids, Okay?"

Faye nods her head as her husband mounts Zio. "Just be careful, okay James? I know you are looking forward to this tournament, but there are a lot of participants here, and they are all gunning for your title."

As if to answer her worries, the Champion looked at her and grinned.

"Well that's kind of the point of being the champion Faye. Meeting and fighting all these contestants is something I am looking forward to, because then I get to see the results of my training and perhaps even learn some new things along the way."

"Oh really?" Faye replied with raised a brow before smirking. "Like that one time you asked Lucina about bringing you more tomes so you could use to learn magic?"

A small chuckle escaped James's mouth as he scratched the back of his head. "Well I was just curious you know. Not like I can do it again though as she won't be in the tourney this time. Or at least not the one from that timeline."

A small look of confusion appeared on Faye's face upon hearing that. "That still confuses me sometimes to be honest. The Lucina we know won't be in this tournament, but another Lucina, from another timeline, is participating."

"If you think that is weird, then try wrapping around the idea that we almost had two pairs of participants, both of the same name and background but with only a difference in gender show up. Me and the others damn near got into a fight on whether or not it would be fair to have it happen, saying the people watching would get confused once their names were brought up and that it would be odd since both versions have the same abilities and skills. Luckily, we held a vote that settled the matter. I swear though, once this is over, I am going to ask Master Hand about the whole thing again. He says it has something to do with time travel and the creation of routes and timelines, but I still get lost on the whole thing."

Faye laughed at the comment, which was soon accompanied by James's own laughter. Despite how odd it was, they both grew use to being friends will all of the smashers. There's never been so much as a boring day since they all met two years ago and now they are going to be a lot more coming to fray.

Once the laughter died down, Faye flashed him one last smile. "Alright James, go out there and do your best."

"Will do Faye. Love you."

And with that, James tapped on Zio's side, signaling him to go. The large horse followed suit by raising a hoof, and in a flash, they were gone.

Faye looked at the spot where her husband and his steed once were. "I love you too."

* * *

Back with James, the Smash champion found himself in a different area, then he was the last time. It was an office room that had pictures of the fighters the entered in the tournament throughout the years, as well as a few bookshelves.

"James?"

Recognizing the voice, the green-eyed man turned and looked at the large white gloved hand that seemed to be staring at him. If it had a face he would like to think it would be one of surprise.

"Hey Master Hand, sorry, but I thought it would be better for me to show up here. Don't want to rile up the others, especially since this will be Zio's first time being at the tourney, right fella?"

James patted the horse's head, who closed his eyes and leaned into the hand. While Zio may not show it, he does like being petted like that of a dog.

"Well I guess that makes sense." Master Hand replied. "It helps me out too because I want to talk to you about something."

James raised a brow at this as he got off Zio intending to listen to what the hand wanted to say.

* * *

Elsewhere in the area, a man was at a table in the cafeteria room, eating away at a tray filled with food, mostly consisting of cheeseburgers, fries and nuggets. However, if one were to look beside him, they would see a small collection of wrappers and used cups, all empty with little evidence of the food they once held.

The man himself was surprising well fit and had a nice build, looking to be in his mid thirties. He was dressed in dark brown combat boots, dark blue cargo pants with a black belt and a dark brown slim coat that had a military emblem on the left shoulder sleeve, a pair of black shades on the breast pocket and a black shirt under it. His skin, which was once tanned years ago, was light while his hair was brown and eyes a distinct shade of amber.

After taking the last bite of his food, the man opened his mouth and let out a small burp.

"Oh man, I needed that. Thanks Raven, you really saved me there."

Immediately after saying that, the A.I Raven materialized before him and gave him a look of amazement. "Just how hungry were you? You ate almost as if you had a tapeworm or something."

"Oh please, if I did, then the sucker would be dead with all the stuff I just ate. My body's been acting up lately, I think all the training I've been doing is causing my nanites to go into overdrive."

"Do you think you can still participate? The tournament is going to start in a few hours, so I don't think it's best for you go in sick."

Shaking his head to the question, the man got up from the table and stretched his body for a second before answering. "There is no I am going to miss this. I have been looking forward to this tournament for two years and I am ready to beat everyone here. And besides…"

With a grin on his face, the man raised his left arm, revealing a metallic hand that was at the end of the sleeve. "I have some surprises for everyone here, beginning with this new arm of mine."

Hearing this, as well as seeing that he was more than confident in his abilities, Raven gave a small chuckle. "Alright then Joe. Go out and do your best and don't worry about this mess, I will take care of it."

With a snap of her fingers, a hole manifested above the ceiling, sucking up the trey as well as the remnants of trash left behind. Once it was gone, the A.I vanished leaving Joe, the former marine who had participated in the last tournament during the 'Graves incident' alone.

"Alright, now let's see if I can find some familiar faces. Maybe I can meet up with that good ol' beauty Samus… as long as I don't find any other attractive women first," he said quietly.

Just as he was about to leave a familiar voice called out to him.

"Joe, long time no see."

Turning around to the source, Joe saw two people. One was woman with fair skin and was slightly taller than how she was two years ago. Her black-brownish hair was longer now reaching her lower back and now has a beauty mark on the left side of her chin, yet she had the same violet eyes as before. As for her clothing, it seemed that she had changed it completely, now sporting a traditional yukata in purple.

Next to her was a man who had ash grey hair and dark blue eyes. His clothing consisted of black steel toe boots, navy blue pants with a belt that had a holster with a gun tucked safely inside. His upper body had a dark blue jacket with what looked to be images of black sakura petals on the chest, shoulders and collar.

Seeing the two the former marine smiled as he walked towards them. "Well, well, well if it isn't the Smash couple. How are you two doing?"

Almost as if by reaction to the word 'couple', the girl's face had a small tint of red before she quickly calmed down. This brought a smile to Joe's face. It's been a while, but it seems the girl had gotten use to everyone bringing it up. The man on the other hand…

"How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling us that. We have had to deal with that title for a year now don't you think it's time to drop it?"

"Oh, and let you live down the great honor of being the first couple to have come out from Smash brothers? No way. Besides, you two owe us this since you dated in secret for months before we found out."

"It's not like we wanted to hide it," said the girl. "We just thought we would tell you when we wanted to. Besides, it's not that surprising is it?"

"In a way, it is. I mean don't get me wrong August, but I never took you as the type of girl who would want to go out with Daniel, let alone get engaged to him."

Hearing the last part specifically, the man known as Daniel glared at Joe. "And exactly what is wrong with that Joe?"

"Nothing, it's just that I always picture you as the emo type of person, staying far away from others and keeping to yourself, maybe even being a gloom and doom."

"You really thought that about me, even two years ago?"

"Well, yeah, but hey, look at you now; together with a beautiful woman, happily engaged, and soon enough, you two will get married and have lots and lots of kids and-"

"KIDS!?" August spoke up, her face turning as red as a tomato at the word.

Seeing the distress she was going through Daniel grabbed hold of her hand and led her to a table. "Stay here dear, let me just have a small 'chat' with our good, but dimwitted, friend Joe."

Almost immediately, Joe felt something dark and violent coming off from Daniel. He knew exactly what was going to happen, hell he went through it two years ago with James. He thought it would stop since he was a family man again, but it seemed Daniel had picked up the slack that James left. His only hope was that August was stable enough to save him before-

"Okay, just go easy on him baby." August replied, still in a daze.

"Shit!" Cursed the former marine as he turned tail and run only for Daniel to grab the collar of his coat and put him in a headlock.

"Why is it that out of all the people here you are the only that keeps finding a way to make August go lightheaded despite all the work we have done to help her get over her shyness?"

"Well, to be fair, I seem to have a knack for that, as well making people mad." Joe chocked out, finding it hard to talk while in the lock.

"I'll say. James warned me you would find a way to up that ante day after day. Honestly, I thought he was joking, but you seem to keep outdoing yourself. Seriously, why would you even mention kids around her?"

Just then, a glint shined in Joe's eye. He saw his chance to escape and he was going to take it. "Oh, so are you saying that you wouldn't have kids with her?"

Daniel's lock on Joe ceased as he stepped back and looked at him. Like August, his face shone a tinged of red. "Wh-why would you say that? I mean I would and all but-"

"But what, don't tell me that August isn't attractive or anything. You are engaged to her, so it would be normal if after you married you two would have kids. Unless…"

Closing the distance between them, Joe got up close to Daniel to finish his sentence. "Could it be that she is already carrying your child."

"N... No, of course not." Daniel stammered almost incoherently. "We didn't, I mean we would never do that until it was right, until were both ready, until we are sure."

"Oh really, are you tell me that you two never shown your love, not once."

Joe's words were hitting their mark as he saw Daniel's face get a bit more red and sweat dripping down.

While he was keeping his composure on the outside on the inside Joe was giddy and thrilled at his achievement. 'Now it's time to go for the kill.'

Placing hands on his friend's shoulders, Joe forced him to turn and face his wife as he whispered behind him into his ear.

"Look at her Daniel. That is your betrothed, the woman you are going to spend the rest of your life with. You mean to tell me that you never once thought about showing her just how much you love her? How she would want to show how much she loves you? That you never once had so much as an impure thought about her. Or maybe.."

Leaning in close, Joe whispered the final and most integral part of his plan.

"You want her to be the aggressive one. To take you down and be in charge, revealing her true and pure beauty?"

And with that it was done. Daniel's face was now as red as it could possibly be, looking at August and nothing else. His mind was going to places it often didn't go to, going a million miles per second. Joe's words of kids, love and beauty swirled in his head, making him lose track of everything as his imagination took over.

It took the feeling of someone's hand on his chest to snap him out of his trance. He looked to see August looking up at him in both worry and confusion.

"Daniel, are you okay? You were just standing there staring at me. What happened with Joe?"

Scrambling his words, Daniel was ready to explain himself until he remembered what she said about Joe. He turned around and saw that Joe was nowhere to be found.

Seeing he was gone, August looked at her fiancée. "He got away, didn't he? What happened?" she asked.

Looking back at her, Daniel's face was a mixture of shame, surprised and above all, anger. His body shook slightly as he yelled out the name of the one who had tricked him.

"JOE!"

* * *

"You want me to go through my transformations in the finals?" James asked, as he looked at the large white gloved hand.

"Why yes. I figured that you should give people a show and transformed here and there during the fight. You don't need to hold back, just transform when you feel that they are bringing a challenge."

Noirs successor gave a small nod. "I understand that, but still it feels a bit odd to do that in the tourney. I have no problem using my Golden Phantasm, but the Noir transformation might be a bit overkill don't you think?"

Master Hand shook his head (or hand in this case) and spoke. "James, trust me. If there is one thing you should never do is underestimate the participants. Come hell or high water, when they want to win, and I mean really want to win, they can pull out a miracle. As champion, you need to defend your title, and only lose it if they are truly better than you. Don't see it as overkill, picture it more, uh, a rite of passage."

Thinking about it, James couldn't really argue about the statement. It's not like he suppose to give the fighters a break. He's the champion, so he needs to give it his all, one hundred percent.

"All right Master Hand, I-"

"JOE!"

The loud scream stopped the conversation as the two looked at one another. Master Hand was the first to speak up. "Was that Daniel?"

"I think it was. I guess Joe must of got to him… again."

Letting out a sigh, the large hand went to his chair and sat down. "Alright, we'll talk more about this later. For now could you go and find Joe. I really don't want a repeat of two years ago. You won't believe the number of complaints I got because of him. I mean what fool goes to a fighting tournament and uses it as if it were a dating party?"

"Will do hand." James replied as he turned to the door and made his leave with Zio following behind him, shutting the door with his tail.

Once the door was closed, only one thing came out of Master Hand's non-existent mouth.

"Oh please don't let anything crazy happen THIS tournament."

* * *

In a hallway that was far from the cafeteria, Joe could be seen running as fast as he could. Despite all the claims he made a while ago about being able to beat all of this year's participants, he wasn't willing to risk it all in a fight that wasn't even part of the tournament. Besides, he was positive that he wasn't the only one who trained in secret for this tourney and out of all the people that could have been training Daniel would be on the top of the list besides James.

'No point on fighting against Daniel now. If anything, he will be more motivated to beat me now that I set him off. Oh well, let me at least see if I can find more familiar faces. Maybe I can find James and talk to him for a bit before the matches start.'

Feeling rather happy at the thought of seeing old friends Joe slid to a stop and dashed to the next turn only to stop once he saw his face was close to bumping into someone in white.

Taking a step back, he was ready to apologize until he saw exactly who it was.

In front of him was a woman that stood at a height of 5'11 with tan skin and large violet eyes. She had long straight light brown hair going past her back. Looking at her clothes, Joe saw she wore black heeled boots, dark blue jeans and a white blouse with a jacket over it. Looking closely, he also noticed the knight earring that she had since the last tournament as well as a bracelet.

"Jesus Joe, a second later and you would have run me over." Spoke the woman in a agitated tone.

"Sorry Ally. I kinda ticked off Daniel, so I am on the run until he tires out or I can find James to help." he explained quickly. "Say, you wouldn't want to give an old friend a hand now would you?"

Before Ally had time to respond, another voice spoke up behind her. "In your dreams. If Daniel's mad, then you must have done something stupid."

Hearing the familiar voice made Joe sighed. He knew exactly who it was, and it makes sense that if Ally is here then the other half of the Chrome twins would be here as well. Looking past the woman in front of him, Joe saw two people.

One was the man he knew would show. Despite the two years that have passed, he was still short, thought not by too much really. His skin was like his sister's, as in it was tan with his light brown hair being in a crew cut. His scar remained, still easy to spot on his left cheek. His eyes were violet like that of Ally's, but his eyelashes were long and his brows were a bit bushy.

His clothing consisted of black adidas pants, a dark blue racing jacket with a white shirt underneath it as well as a pair of finger-less gloves. Funny enough Joe spotted some bandages on his fingers.

The other was a girl, a rather attractive and radiant girl as well. Standing around 5'6 with fair skin, she had light brown hair in bouncy curls reaching her mid back and a pair of bright golden eyes. While she wasn't as curvy as Ally, she was skinny and attractive, even having a beauty mark on her left cheek. Her clothing was that of a yellow sun dress with matching yellow flip flops. A diamond necklace as well as a set of unique and expensive rings was being worn by her as well, at least, all except her ring finger.

"Ethan, nice to see you. Same to you Dianna, you look lovely today."

"Zip it Rows." the girl, now known Dianna, responded angrily. "Don't think that we are going to have a repeat of the last tournament. Everyone here is fully aware of your womanizing behavior so any ideas you might have had of using your perverted antics you might as well forget it."

"Now to be fair, that was back when I was not as mature as I am now." Joe defended. "Plus, I didn't do anything that bad."

"If memory serves didn't you pants a woman here, in this very hall, about two years ago?" Ethan asked.

"That was an accident! I fell damn it and I tried to catch the closest thing to me." Joe exclaimed.

Ally rolled her eyes thinking it was best to change the topic. Looking around, she noticed the emblem on Joe's jacket. "So, you were a staff sergeant back in the military, huh Joe. I never knew that."

Looking at her and then at the emblem, Joe nodded, though looked rather glum in doing so. "Yeah well, I was until the accident happened and I got the nanites. I was close to becoming a sergeant first class, but they sent me home with a purple heart. Sucks too, I was ambitious to get that rank. If the whole thing never happened, I would be a master sergeant by now."

"Why don't you just go back and reenlist?"

"What and miss this? If being able to see you guys, fight strong people, and meeting beautiful woman is what my life is heading towards, then I accept it gladly." Responded the former marine, while making sure he said the last part as quietly as possible.

"Well at least you're happy doing something you want I suppose. But I have to ask, what exactly did you do to make Daniel angry… this time."

"Oh that, well I kind of made a joke or two about him and August having kids."

Upon saying those very words, Dianna's eyes sparkled brightly as she held Ethan by the arm. "You hear that Ethan? Kids, Daniel and August are thinking about kids? Don't you think that's wonderful? It must be fantastic to have kids with the person you love. Especially when both of you are married."

Faced with a powerful gaze of wonder from the young woman, Ethan felt sweat running down his head. Since the announcement of Daniel and August's engagement, Dianna have been on a mission of constantly getting him to propose. Luckily, he was always able to find away to get away from the quest, usually with work, training or the help of his sister. However, throughout all the conversations they had, kids never really popped up.

Slowly he turned his head towards Joe and gritted his teeth. 'Now I see why Daniel got angry with him. You sly bastard.'

Just then the sound of footsteps could be heard as well as minor cursing.

"Well that's my cue. Later fellas."

With that Joe dashed between, disappearing around the next corner. Not long after he left, Daniel and August appeared, though with the former giving the latter a piggyback ride.

"Wow Daniel, you run fast when you're angry." August pointed out in amazement of her fiance's speed.

"With all the training I did I had better. Now where the hell is that rat faced mother-"

However, Daniel's words stopped as he saw the three people from before. Seeing that Joe was nowhere to be seen and that he was now in the presence of old friends, he set August down and waved a hand. "Hey there. It's been a while hasn't it."

"I'll say. How are you doing?" Ally asked, as she gave August a hug while Ethan shook Daniel's hand.

"We've been doing fine. We just met up with Joe. Though it could have ended a bit better." August explained in a irritated tone.

Dianna nodded while looking at her outfit. "That's a beautiful yukata August. It looks great on you."

"Thanks. Honestly, I was a bit cautious wearing it to a tournament and all. It's a little hard to move around in compared to the old dress I had. Luckily I learned a trick to deal with that which you will get a chance to see when I get a turn to fight."

After saying that, the girls laughed and soon started to talk.

Ethan, deciding he wanted to talk to Daniel alone for a second, motioning for him to come over. Following the gesture, Daniel went over to him.

"So Joe got under your skin huh?" Ethan asked.

Keeping an eye on his friend, Ethan saw that Daniel didn't seem happy to admit, but still nodded to it. "It's okay, it happens. Joe just got smarter over the years. Guess Graves notion on the nanites increasing his intelligence has some merit huh?"

Daniel nodded to the question, but looked a little disheartened to hear it. Realizing what he said, Ethan attempted to apologize, but his friend stopped him by raising a hand.

"It's okay. Honestly, I learned to live with it by now. Graves may have been my brother, but he stopped being my family the moment he used the Fallen Grace to start killing worlds. If anything I should be grateful that all of you treat me differently, despite knowing that I am related to him."

"Well of course we would. You were with us for the fight two years ago, so if anything, you've earned our respect. Besides that, I have to ask; did you tell your mother about Nathan?"

Looking back at the girls and seeing how August was still busy talking, Daniel whispered his answer. "I didn't have to. She was one of the people watching the tournament when it was being broadcast. The moment Graves revealed himself she knew who he was. I tried to tell her about it when I saw her, but she said she already knew."

"How did she take it?" Ethan asked despite already knowing it couldn't have been pleasant.

"Quite badly. She blamed herself for the whole thing, saying if she had never left him at that orphanage all those years ago, then none of that would have happened. It got worse when dad died last year. He made sure to keep her safe though, leaving a lot of money behind and more for her in his will. It took some time, but she's calmed down now."

Ethan nodded to each of his words, but he was curious about something. "Why exactly are you whispering? Doesn't August already know this?"

"Well yeah, but this part is something I haven't mention to her yet. Since the whole thing with the Graves affair mom has been making sure to call me and see how I am doing with August. Yesterday though, she asked me to visit her and well…"

The next part was important as Daniel leaned forward and whispered it in Ethan's ear. The information that he gave must have been surprising as Ethan's eyes went wide in surprise.

"Are you going to do it?" Ethan asked in disbelief. "It will change everything you know that right?"

"I know. It's just that I've been concerned about the whole thing. Whether I want to admit or not me and Graves were brothers and I am still concerned that one day I might snap and do the same thing he did. Plus there is the fact that I am not entirely human either." Daniel explained solemnly as a frown crossed his face. "What if… what if one day August wakes up and realizes that and-"

"It's going to be fine, Daniel." Ethan interjected in forceful yet reassuring tone. "She is with you because she cares for you and the choices Graves made were his own. You are in control of your own decisions so just do what you feel is right."

Hearing the advice of the male Chrome tin, Daniel silently nodded. After he did so a hand touched his shoulder making him turn to see August.

"Hey Daniel, lets all head to the training area. We still got time before the tournament starts, so let's get some practice in. Maybe we can meet up with James."

"That's a good idea," Dianna responded, taking up Ethan's arm once again. "We could even have a team battle. 3 vs. 3 sounds good, don't it Ethan?"

Seeing that Dianna was rather enthusiastic about the idea, the male Chrome nodded as the group made there way to the training room.

* * *

Back with James, the Smash Champion walked with Zio close by. Eventually, the two made their way to the lobby area, the same place they were last time they showed up. The only difference is that it had some participants in the room, some of which were very familiar. "Guess Joe isn't here. Funny, I could have sworn he said his favorite show comes on around this time. Guess he must have figured out how to use the DVR."

Seeing that Joe wasn't around, James decided to stick around just a bit and say hello to the other smashers, but before he had a chance to a voice spoke up. "Well if it isn't the Smash Champion, here in the flesh."

Look to his left, James greeted with an old friend, standing in her ever-faithful armor. "Samus, it's good to see you."

"Likewise." said the bounty hunter. "How's the family back home? Is your son doing well?"

"Oh, they are doing just find and Jacob is growing up nicely."

"That's nice. Hey, why don't you come sit with me?" Samus explained, gesturing to a group filled with familiar faces sitting in front of a large screen. "Some of the other veterans are sitting where I am watching clips of the last tournament."

"Really? Alright then, this will be a good time to show Zio some of the fights from two years ago. What do you say pal, you want to watch?"

The large horse looked at James and seemed to give him a silent answer. Soon the two followed Samus to the table, where they met up with Snake, Peach, Marth, Cap. Falcon, Lucario and Link. The first to take notice of his arrival was the wielder of the master sword himself.

"James, it's great to see you. Is that Zio?'

"Yeah it is. I figured that I should go ahead and properly introduce him to the others. Well that and show him how the tournament is played out. You guys wouldn't mind if he joins, would you?"

Falcon looked at the large and back at James. "I am sure we don't mind, but he's awfully big. I don't think he-"

Before the Captain could finish his sentence, Noir's size changed, shrinking to the size of a dog. Seeing this, the veterans all looked at James with surprise and confusion.

"What? Zio isn't a normal horse remember? This is the same one who fast enough to run worlds and dimensions in no time flat. Changing size isn't really anything new now is it?"

"Well no, but it still a bit jarring." Marth replied as Zio sat on the floor near where Jame's chair was.

Deciding to change the subject, Peach spoke up. "So James, how's Rachel? Is she doing well with that Pokemon Abel gave her?"

"You mean Thea? Both of them are getting along fine. In fact, I think I caught Rachel a few times saying that she wants to become a Pokemon trainer." He replied with a small smile.

Just then, Snake recalled something that he been meaning to ask. "If memory serves, didn't Abel give that Pokemon to you specifically?"

"Yeah he did, but once I saw hot much Rachel wanted to keep it, I kind of felt like she should have it." James explained. "Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against Eevees or Espeons or even Pokemon in general, but I am more of a dog person really."

Hearing this the legendary soldier rubbed his chin in thought. "I see, so in that case, how about a husky? I know a guy giving some away back home. I think you might like one."

"A husky huh? That sound great Snake, but I might need to discuss it with Faye back home."

Just then Lucario spoke up. "May I make a suggestion?"

Turning towards the Aura Pokemon, everyone gave him their undivided attention as he talked.

"I think a Riolu would be a good pick for you and your family. They are playful when they are young but can be very loyal. I believe they would do well as both a member for your family and as a protector should you not be around."

Hearing Lucarios suggestion made James think about the idea. He won't lie as he had thought about having another Pokemon around the house. Thea is good and reliable, but he always felt that she would like to have another Pokemon to talk to and spend time with from time to time.

Looking back at the Pokemon, James gave his answer. "Alright, I'll think about it once the tournament is over. Who knows; if I got time I can head over to your world and see some Pokemon myself."

The Pokemon nodded to his words, taking him for his word. Peach then cut in the conversation. "Hey, once this is over, how about we all have a party to celebrate. I can cook some of my famous pies."

"Pies? I love pies. What type of pie are you going to ba-"

However James was cut off as Samus hand went to cover his mouth. The champion was confused until he saw that everyone else was a bit nervous.

The bounty hunter raised her cannon hand, sort of giving off a short wave. "No, no Peach. We will just make our own food. You don't need to do that. I know, you can taste test our food, how does that sound?"

Easing back to her chair, the princess gave a soft sigh before answering. "Okay."

Seeing that the worse was over, Samus went to James's ear and whispered. "Don't let Peach try to bake pies for the party. Mario said that she been off her game lately due to getting in shape for the tournament. Even Wario has been going to the bathroom like after a few bites, and you know that if he can't take it, then there must be something wrong with that pie."

James gave a nod to her words and exhaled a small breath of relief. With that bullet dodged, he felt it would be a good time to see if he can find some of the other vets. Right when he was about to get to his feet though, a voice spoke up behind him. "L-Lord Marth!?"

Turning around, James and the others saw someone that they never saw before.

The person was a male, standing in a uniform that consisted of brown boots, white pants, white shirt and a purple coat with hoodie. If memory serves, this is the same uniform that the man Lucina talked about wore, a tactician named Robin. One thing that did stand out to him however, was a golden sheath that was placed by his hip. Returning his attention to the man before him, James saw that the man had light skin with short dark blue hair and green eyes.

"I don't believe it. I mean, I was always told that you are a veteran participate here, but just seeing you is far different from hearing it. It's really you, Marth the Hero King."

James looked back at Marth, who rose to his feet and walked to the newcomer. Extending his hand, the Hero King gave a warm smile. "You must be Iniabi. Lucina and Robin told you were coming. It's nice to meet you."

"Lucina?" James asked in surprised. He hasn't seen Lucina here for months. Why would she show up and not say hi to him?

Seeing his face, Samus decided to fill him in. "Not that Lucina, James. Another one from another timeline. They showed up and met up with Marth. They wanted to fight in the tournament, but they were too busy so they told him about Iniabi and asked him to be on the lookout for him."

"Oh, I see."

James looked back at the Marth and Iniabi and decided to walk forward and greet the young man himself. "Hello Iniabi. I take it that you are here to try and win the tournament, right?"

The young man nodded. "That's right. I have been looking for a challenge for a while now, so I figured that I come here and give it a shot. You're the current champion here am I correct?"

"That I am."

Seeing that he was right, the tactician gave a serious look. "I look forward to go up against in the finals. I hope you give me nothing but your absolute best."

"Really, well then, I hope you can get to me. You have a lot of people to get through, Marth being one of them. You think you can beat them all and get to me?"

"We'll find out in a few hours."

A smile came across the face of Noirs Successor. He only met the newcomer for a few minutes and already he felt the intensity in his eyes, a fierce will to win. This is what he been looking forward to for these past two years; a good challenge from someone that has the determination to give it to him. It's times like these that he is happy to be champion, just so he can meet and maybe even go up against people like this. And to think, this is only one of the newcomers. What would all of the other new bloods be like?

"You might as well drop the tough guy act, it doesn't really help when you are outmatched." Spoke a brand-new voice, this one sounding feminine, yet young. The group looks towards the source and saw the owner of the voice.

Sitting on a table by herself was a young girl, who looked to be around fifteen at best, looking at them. Her eyes were yellow and her hair white, with it sticking out the sides and with two strands of hair falling from either side of her head, draping down her shoulders. Her shirt was light gray with a floral design at the bottom, black shorts, visible gray socks with white hems in a pair of grey shoes with black and gray accents and black laces. Looking more carefully, one can see sky blue breaded bracelet and a black necklace with a spherical sky blue charm.

Iniabi step forward, looking at him with stern eyes. "Would you care to repeat that?"

Exhaling, the girl stood up from her chair and looked at him with a matching glare. "I said drop the tough guy act. You think you can win with just grit and determination? Sorry to break it to you, but you are out matched."

"Really now, so you think that James can beat Iniabi with no problem?" Marth asked, giving in his two cents.

The girl turned to him and gave a small coy grin. "Who said anything about James? I was talking about myself to be honest."

The young tactician, now feeling a bit insulted, spoke up with a more serious tone. "You think you can beat me that easily?"

Answering his challenge, a small dark aura emanated from the girl as her eyes stayed focused on Iniabi. "Well we got time. We can find out right now."

The tension between the two newcomers nearly overtook the room, causing the others to stop what they were doing and look towards them.

Iniabi's hand began to clench as trails of electricity danced around his hand. Marth saw this and knew that the tactician must be readying to use lightning magic, yet he didn't see any tomes.

'Amazing. He can conjure magic without the use of tomes. Iniabi truly is unique.'

Right when it looked like the two was ready to fight however, James stepped in between them.

"Alright you two, that's enough. If you want to fight so badly, then wait for the tournament. If you can't, then go to the training area. At least there you will be able to go all out without actually hurting yourselves once it's over."

Both newcomers stopped what they were doing and looked at the champion. Iniabi was the first to speak, slightly bowed his head to the girl. "Sorry, I let my anger get the best of me."

Deciding that it was best to do the same, the girl slight bowed her head too, though not as much as Iniabi. "Yeah, I apologize as well."

Seeing that the matter was settled, James turned to the girl. "So, what exactly is your name?"

Looking at the Smash Champion, the girl cleared her throat and answered. "The name is Xolette."

"Ah, well that I unique name. So, I take it that you are here to participate huh? Well I welcome you to Smash Bros. Hope to see you get far in the tournament."

Xolette nodded to him, however sneaked a glance at his right. The Black arm that once belonged to Noir drew her attention, as she seemed to admire it look.

James noticed this and raised the arm a bit. "You curious about my arm?"

Realizing that she had been caught, Xolette looked back at James, looking him right in the eye.

"No, I was just looking. Sorry to stare."

"Don't worry about it. Anyway, it's nice to meet you."

Just then James felt something on his leg. He looked down and saw the miniature version of Zio softly knocking one of his front legs to his.

He locked eyes with him for a second before speaking again. "Well I am sorry to cut it short but looks like Zio wants to go and get something to eat at the cafeteria. I look forward seeing you in the tournament, so good luck and I hope you enjoy yourself."

With that said, James went back and talked to the rest of his friends, telling them that he was leaving to get Zio some food and to continue looking for Joe before he makes a repeat of the last tournament.

As he did however, one last newcomer came by the lobby only to miss him by a few seconds. Samus was the first to notice their presence and greeted him.

"Hello Cloud. Are you getting used to the layout of the place yet?"

Looking at the bounty hunter, the former solider slowly shook his head. "Afraid not. This place is big, and there are so many people here too. I have been trying to see if I can find a place to get some practice in, but I keep getting lost."

"The training room huh? I can show you there. Follow me."

Samus began to lead the way there as Cloud followed. The walk was fairly short as the training room was only a few halls away. As they were about to take the next corner however, something, or someone, dashed in front.

"OUT OF THE WAY, OUT OF THE-"

Relying on their reflexes and reactions, both Cloud and Samus moved out-of-the-way as a blur ran passed them, who stopped just as they almost hit the wall. Once it did, it turned its head to look back at the two.

"Sorry for that, I ticked off an old friend and-"

However, they stopped once they saw Samus, making them smile. The bounty hunter on the other hand let out a soft groan upon seeing who it was.

"Why Samus, what a pleasant surprise." Joe greeted with a flirtatious smile. "It's great to see you again. How are you doing?"

"Hello Joe. So, may I ask exactly what you did this time to even have James look for you?"

"James is looking for me?" Joe asked, quickly forgetting Samus first question. "Where is he?"

Seeing that his mind was elsewhere, Samus eyes rolled inside her helmet as Cloud looked on. This was going to be a long few hours before the tournament started, she can tell.

* * *

 **Hey guys, I am sorry for the wait. School was getting down to the wire and things popped up when X-mas came by. Anyway, I hope you guys like the changes that I made for Joe and Daniel, and that I did a good job on showing the OCs. This is only part one of the introduction of the characters, I will get started on the other part soon. Until then I hope you had a good X-mas and have a good new year in 2019. See you soon.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everyone. I am sorry for the wait. This is 3rd chapter. The next one will be the last one of the OC introductions. It also might be a bit shorter than this chapter. Either way, the next one will be up faster than this one I promise. Have a nice day and thank you for all the supports and reviews.**

"James went to the cafeteria?" the former marine asked in shock.

Samus nodded. "He was looking for you, but Zio was hungry and wanted something to eat. They left about a minute ago, so you just missed them."

"Damn, I just left from there too and I don't want to risk meeting up with Daniel again." Looking back at Samus, Joe let out a sigh before smiling. "Oh well, guess I'll just have to hang out with you for a while."

"You don't have to. You can spend time with the others instead." Samus replied, trying to hide the irritation in her voice.

Even though she had gotten to know Joe to the point where they could be considered friends, she was still annoyed with how he acted. While his womanizing had toned down a bit, the fact he keeps doing it hasn't changed one bit and she was the one who goes through it the most.

Joe shot her a dirty grin as he leaned against the wall. "So, may I ask why you're in your suit? You're not exactly fighting right now, and I would really like to see that pretty face of yours."

 _'Two years and he still won't quit.'_ Samus thought with a silent sigh. "Look Joe, I'm trying to help Cloud get used to this place, so if you want to help could you at least stop hitting on me?"

The former marine raised a brow as he turned his gaze to the person in question. "So, you're Cloud, huh?" Joe asked. "James mentioned you a lot, saying you're the second-best swordsman where you're from."

"Second-best?" Cloud repeated. He was going to ask who was the first, but then the memory of the one-winged angel came to mind. It would make sense as to why he would be considered second-best if one compared him to his greatest foe.

As if sensing Cloud's troubles, Joe tried to get his mind off it with kind words. "Hey, I understand you fought a monster where you're from right? As well as the fact that you want to be a hero of sorts?"

The ex-SOLDIER shook his head. "I guess you could say that. I was only able to beat Sephiroth with the help of my friends. If it wasn't for them, I don't think I would be here today."

"Really? Well then, I guess that means you got some pretty good friends." Joe complimented. "The type who'd follow you to hell and back I bet. You should make sure to keep them close because people like that are hard to find."

Cloud nodded to the former marine, making a note to keep his advice in mind when he got back home.

Soon after he spoke up though, Cloud remembered something he had been curious about since he got here. "Hey, I have a question for you, if you don't mind me asking."

Joe gave a shrug letting the Ex-SOLDIER speak his mind.

"I heard you're technically superhuman due to the nanites and that one of the main powers you have is accelerated healing, right?"

"Yeah, it is." Joe confirmed proudly. "Hell, it's the reason why I was able to goof around with the others last time with no worry of injuries getting in the way of a match."

While Cloud and Joe couldn't see it, Samus rolled her eyes inside her helmet after hearing his answer. She already knew Joe was reckless because to his healing factor, but hearing him use it as an excuse for the things he pulled last time still annoyed her.

Back to the conversation at hand, Cloud resumed questioning. "If that's true, then what about your arm? I heard that you lost it back in the Graves incident. You couldn't regenerate it?"

The question made Joe sigh as he lifted his metal arm. "Well to be honestly, I can heal and reform missing limbs. I've never been in something crazy enough to lose an arm or anything, but I did lose a finger or two back when I practiced cooking a few years ago. Last time I tried to watch TV while cutting potatoes. Swore never to never do that again. "

Flexing his metal fingers slightly, he pulled back his sleeve reveal the whole arm. "When Graves took my arm though, the nanites were only able to stop the bleeding and give me a stump. James believed since he used the power of the Fallen Grace to take it away, the nanites weren't able to work properly due to the strange energy it had."

Cloud nodded as he continued. "Do you know exactly where the nanites came from, and if there are more like yours?"

At this point Joe was getting bit uncomfortable with all the prodding but decided to answer anyway. He could tell by the look Cloud was giving him that whatever the reason was it was important to him.

"Well they were made by a scientist who wanted to use it to heal severe injuries, but he gave an imperfect copy. As for there being others, I really don't know. I lost contact with the doctor after he saved me."

Getting curious from the conversation, Samus decided it was her turn to ask questions. "Why are you so interested in the nanites Cloud? Don't tell me you actually want them?"

Cloud shook his head to the Smash vet. "No, I'm asking because I thought the nanites might be linked to the SOLDIER program back in my home. People who went through that procedure came out with supernatural levels of strength, speed, and as well as a healing factor. I was thinking that somehow that doctor managed to get something related to the Jenova cells used to empower SOLDIERS."

"Jenova cells?" asked Joe with a raised brow. Thinking back on the idea, he never figured out how the nanites were made, let alone what was inside the nanites, as well as how they work in detail. The idea that they were made with something alien would explain a few things, but even then, that didn't explain how they were made.

 _'Now that I think about it, I never did question the means of how the nanites were made, let alone how different they were compared to the finished ones the doctor aimed to make. I should look for the him once this is over, and maybe even pay Cloud's world a visit to see if the nanites and the Jenova cells are related.'_

Seeing the Joe wrapped in thought, Samus tapped his shoulder. "Are you okay? You looked deep in thought and that is something you almost never do."

"Well gee, just keep on insulting a guy would ya?" responded Joe with a smirk. He took a step ahead of the two in front of him and turned back. "Look, I think we're wasting time, let's hurry and head to the training room. It'll be good for Cloud to learn how to fight against a vet, and what better choice than me."

With that said, he turned away from the duo and continued walking with Cloud not far behind. Samus followed as well, but she kept in mind the face Joe had earlier. She had never seen him looking in deep thought before, and the fact that he tried to put it off like it was nothing made her a little uneasy.

 _'I guess the thought of the Jenova cells and his nanite shook him up a bit. Maybe I should talk to him about it later.'_

* * *

Back in the cafeteria, James was at a table as Zio stood by, eating some apples on a tray.

The large black horse must have really loved them as not only did he eat them whole, core and seed included, but he even had some saved in his mane for later.

"Damn Zio, I'm starting to think I should plant an apple tree back home for you."

Almost immediately, the black stallion looked at James with wide eyes.

Seeing this, the one-eyed man raised a brow. "What? You really liked that idea? Well that's good. Now if only I could get you to eat more carrots."

Zio arched his brows and shook his head almost violently.

James sighed. "Come on Zio, there good for you. At least give them another try." Again, Zio shook his head, and gave a small 'huff' of sorts. "You can't just say carrots are for rabbits and no, using Bugs Bunny as an example is not a valid argument."

Upon hearing this, the faithful steed looked away in silence. Even as he did though, James heard him say something under his breath.

"What do you mean Rachel doesn't like carrots?" James questioned in disbelief. "I've seen her eat them myself. Now you're just making up excuses."

Hearing his words, Zio decided to keep quiet as he continued to eat. Seeing this, James reached out and petted the stallion on the head, making him look back at him.

"If you don't want to eat carrots, then fine. I won't force you to and when we get back, I'll get started on that tree and you can eat all the apples you want. How does that sound buddy?"

The stallion nodded and curled his lips in what looked to be a smile. These were one of the few moments Zio showed a change in facial expressions, as he tended to show off his emotions through body language.

Once the petting stopped, James's steed looked back at him with a silent stare that he was able to read, making him shrug. "You think I should get a Lucario too? Why, you don't like Thea?" The black horse kept his stare, making the one-eyed man speak again. "Another male in the house? Well I guess you have a point on that. The girls get along just fine and it wouldn't hurt to have another Pokémon in the house, but I'll have to talk it over with Faye first before we do anything else."

Zio nodded and went to resume his eating, only to stop mid-way and look up.

James took notice to this and was about to ask what was wrong until he felt something… off.

The sensation he felt at that moment was rather odd, something akin to being close to a fire that didn't offer heat. He knew it was an energy source, as he had mastered the ability to read peoples life forces from distances, but this one was a little different…

This life force felt somewhat familiar, though not fully.

Turning to his right to see the source, James found what looked to be a teenage boy sitting at a table casually snacking on chocolate bars and gummy worms.

Looking closer, he made out that the boy had porcelain skin, short black spiky hair and green eyes. He stood at a height of 5'7" with a slender build. As for clothes, he wore grey impact absorption sneakers with white cuffs at the ankles, pale blue jeans and a white t-shirt. One thing James did take note to though was a black beetle necklace around his neck.

 _'That one… that's the person I sensed, but why? He looks like an ordinary boy so why am I feeling something strange from him?'_

Just then the boy in question looked toward James, offering a somewhat similar look as the Smash Champion did.

To him, it looked as if the boy had the same thoughts going through his head, giving James a face of utter confusion and surprise.

Just as they looked at one another, a voice spoke up by them.

"James!"

Turning his head, James saw three faces, two of them he knew rather well.

The first one was a girl who stood around 5'9" with tan skin. She had straight, dark brown hair that reached the middle of her back, with large violet eyes that came with long eye lashes. There was mole on the left side of her chin and three smaller ones in a triangle shape on the apple of her left cheek as well as a pair of high cheekbones. As for her clothes, she wore an outfit similar to Iniabi, being the same grand master outfit with the only difference being that she had silver armor on the legs and chest.

The second one looked to have brownish-blond curly hair that reached below her shoulders with large emerald green eyes. Despite the time that flew by, she still looked to be short and skinny, almost as if anyone can lift her without effort or struggle. Her clothing was rather simple, being a Greek style white dress with a wreath.

The last one among the two was a girl who was smaller than the first one, being around 5'7". Her skin was pale with her hair being brown and wavy. Her eyes seemed to be a bit off, as she wore thick framed glasses in front of violet colored eyes, as well as looking extremely young when it comes to facial features. As for what she wore, she had light silver armor that involved leggings, breastplate and shoulders pads.

James looked at the first two and smiled. "Kimchi, Ellie. You two are entering this year?"

The two girls, the first being Kimchi and the other Ellie, walked over to him and flashed a smile. The first girl spoke up with happiness in her voice. "Of course, we are. There was no way we were going to miss this. Besides, how else are we going to show you how much we've grown?"

"You could always come by and visit the house more often," James replied smiling. "that would be a good way to do it."

"We've been busy for a while." Ellie spook up. "Palutena and Pit have been helping me improve over the years, and Kimchi has been preoccupied with her royal duties."

"Really now? So, should I start calling you Queen Kimchi now?"

Taking this as a chance to joke around, Kimchi raised her head with a smile. "Yes, you may. In fact, you may refer to me as Smash Queen Kimchi once I win this tournament, my good sir."

Hearing this from his friend James laughed, causing the other two to do the same. They did this until the new girl interrupted them.

"Karina, is this the man you talked to me about. James, right?" she asked.

James took notice of the name as Kimchi answered. "Yes, it is. He is a good friend of mine. Go head an introduce yourself."

Taking the cue, the girl walked forward the man, and gave a slight bow. "It's good to finally met you mister Artemis. I am Elizabeth 'Eliza' Lin, Karina's, or as you know her as Kimchi, older sister."

James greeted her with a smile, but his thoughts began to process the words she said. _'Wait, did she say 'older' sister? But she looks so young, and she even shorter than Kimchi.'_

Quickly getting over his thoughts, he returns his bow to the girl. "Likewise, Elizabeth. I never knew that Kimchi had a sister. Oh, I hope you don't mind that I refer her by that name, do you."

"Don't worry. Only her friends call her by that, and if what she said is true, we are surrounded by them here."

'Well she isn't wrong about that.' James thought. Just then, Zio walked to his side, looking at the girls. The girls looked at the large horse with wide eyes. Kimchi was the first one that spoke, as she soon began to pet Zio.

"Wow, you brought Zio here. I haven't seen him since the incident two years ago."

"Yeah, I figured that he would like to be around and see how the others fight. He been at the house for so long, I thought that being here would be more fun for him. That and, well, he loves the apples here."

Upon saying his favorite word, Zio turned his head to James, almost as if he was expecting something. Immediately he figured out what he wanted and shook his head.

"Alright, but let see if you can impress the girls with those skills of yours. Stand back you three, you are going to enjoy this.

Heeding his words, the girls gave them some distance as James grabbed some apples. He looked at Zio, who went to a low stance.

"Okay Zio, think fast!"

Taking the first apple, James threw one like a fast ball at the horse, only for it to vanish in mid-air. Seeing this, the girls became confused as to where it went, only to see James continue with an onslaught of apples.

He threw another one, only for it to vanish. Then he threw two, one high and one low. Similar form before however, both of the apples vanished. This kept going for a few more seconds, which led to James throwing 15 apples, with 15 vanished.

Seeing the look at the girls faces, Zio turned his face at James before he threw another one. Despite being silent, the Smash Champion knew exactly what he wanted.

"Oh, that a good idea. Girls, would you like to be part of the show?"

Elizabeth raised a brow to the question. Sensing her confusion, James answered her question.

"Just stand there and let me throw the rest of the apples at you. While I do this, keep an eye on Zio. Once this is over, tell me what happened to the apples, okay?"

Upon saying this, Elizabeth felt worried at the suggestion. Her sister however spoke up with enthusiasm. "Alright. Let it rip James."

She turned to her younger sister, who looked to be confident in James Words. Seeing Elizabeth face, she turned to her and reassure her decision. "Don't worry. James wouldn't do anything to hurt us. Besides, we can handle a few apples, right? And if anything, bad happens, there are healing chambers around here, so just relax Eliza."

"If you say so Karina. Alright James, give it your best shot."

Flashing a grin to the girls. James grabbed the apples in his right hand and began to throw them. The girls focused their attention at Zio, who just stood there. They all stood, wondering exactly when James was going to start, only for him to speak up.

"Alright, done."

"What?!" the girls yelled as they looked at him, only to see that his hands were empty of the apples he had only a few minutes ago. Seeing this, they looked back at Zio, who stood there, at the exact same place he was when they saw him.

"So, did you three know what happened to the apples? The one-eyed man asked as he walked to them with Zio by his side.

The three began to think about where the apples were, but didn't have any clue. That was when they began to guess. The first was Ellie. "Did Zio teleport them?"

James shook his head. "Nope. Zio don't teleport anyway."

Next was Kimchi. "You hid them, didn't you? I bet you used that arm of yours and hide them in it like you did with the bow from last time huh?"

Again, James shook his head. "Sorry, I didn't do anything to the Apples. What about you Elizabeth? Do you have an answer?"

The elder Lin thought about her answer, and after a few seconds of thinking, she came up with one. "He ate them all. That only way they all could vanish like that. I remember Karina telling me that Zio was extremely fast, but I never knew it was that fast."

Hearing her answer, the Smash champion nodded to her words. "Great. Now how many did he eat?"

"All of them?" Elizabeth answered.

"Nope. He only ate fifteen, so that's half. So, what did he do with the rest of them?"

Hearing this, the girls grew confused until a new voice was heard. "He gave you the rest."

Turning their heads, they all looked to see that it was the green-eyed teen that James noticed earlier that spoke up.

"What, that's impossible. We all saw him, there's no way Zio can do that." Kimchi claimed with confidence. However, James pointed on top of their heads with a small smile.

"Well then how do you explain your new hats?"

Confused, the girls looked at one another, only to see something red above their vision. Elizabeth raised her hand, making them red visage float, only to be revealed to be apples, approximately five of them on each of their heads.

Shocked at this feat, she looked at Zio, who gave a bland expression. However, as she looked closely, she could see a rise at the corner of his lip, almost as if it was a smirk.

"But… but how did he do that? We all saw him."

Quietly laughing at the reveal, James decided to explain the feat. "Well you see, you were right that Zio was fast. He did all of this based on speed alone. He ate half of them and decided to stack the rest on your heads. In fact, he kept putting back every time you three moved and caused them fall."

Hearing the revelation about the whole trick, the girls looked back at Zio, who raised his head high, as if to showboat his magnificent speed.

While both Kimchi and Ellie was impressed with the steed's feat, they were still aware of the fact that he was capable of incredible speeds, so it was that shocking.

The same can't be said for Elizabeth however, as this was the very first time, she even saw Zio. Before she came here, she only heard stories of the people here and only a little bit of second-hand information about the black steed who faster than the speed of light. At first, she kind of took as just stories, exaggerations that a horse could somehow walk on air and move at a speed of light, traveling from one world to another with no sense of time.

All of that went flying out of the window however upon seeing the real thing up-close. Zio wasn't just able to eat the apples with enough speed to make it like they vanished, but he was even able to somehow stack the rest on their head multiple times without any of the girls realizing it.

 _'To do something like that without anyone noticing it. Exactly what type of horse is Zio?'_

Elizabeth thoughts was interrupted once she heard the newcomer talking again. "So, this is Zio? The steed fast enough to take you to different worlds without motion huh?" the green-eyed teen asked.

"Oh, so you've heard about him?" James replied in clear interest. So far only the veterans were aware of Zio, so he didn't think any newcomer would know anything about him.

The teen nodded his head to the older man. "I heard some of the vets talking about him earlier. Something about a race between Zio, the world crosser and Sonic the fastest thing alive."

After hearing this, James began to wonder who would say something like that. Soon though he drew up a good suspect.

 _'I'm going to go out on a limb and say it was Joe.'_

* * *

Somewhere, far in a hall, Joe sneezed during his walk to the training room with Samus and Cloud.

Reaching into his pockets, he pulled out a tissue and wiped his nose quickly, but not fast enough as Samus had already taken notice.

"You okay Joe?" she asked. "Are you coming down with a cold?"

The former marine turned to her and shook his head. "No, I'm fine. For some reason though, I've been sneezing a lot lately and don't know why."

* * *

Back with James, the young boy looked at the current champion and properly introduced himself. "It's a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance Mr. Artemis. My name is Mantis and I reside in the same world as Sonic."

"It's good to meet you too Mantis." James responded a little taken back by such a formal greeting. "And please, you can just call me James."

"If you insist," Mantis said, as he turned his attention to of James's right arm. "So, is that the arm? The one you used to beat Graves?"

James raised his arm and showed it off before answering. "Yeah, this is the same one."

Mantis looked at the black arm taking notice of its markings and texture. Before he got here, he had acquired some intriguing information about it. Apparently, the arm was originally in possession of someone named Noir who resided in a faraway land and that it possessed tremendous power.

 _'If the data was correct, then this arm had enough power to go blow for blow with Graves two years ago who was at a power that dwarfed Tabuu.'_

While Mantis was deep in thought over the arm, Zio came by and gently knocked his head at James's back.

James looked back at him and was reminded of the sensation he felt earlier. "Oh, that's right I almost forgot. Mantis, when you saw me, did you-"

"James!"

The trio turned to see Master Hand coming towards them before he turned his attention to the Smash Champion.

"What are you doing here? I told you to find Joe before he does anymore of his antics. Go out there and find him."

James scratched his head as he looked at the hand. "I will, it's just that I don't really know where he is."

Just then Raven materialized in front of the group. "Joe was last seen heading to the training room with both Samus and Cloud."

"Cloud? As in the newcomer I vouched for?" James asked.

Raven nodded. "I would hurry though. Daniel and August are heading there too and he is still a bit miffed with him after the stunt he pulled earlier. If you don't get there, we might have our first real fight before this tournament even starts."

With that said, the A.I vanished and no sooner after Master Hand began pushing James to the exit. "You know where he is now, so go and stop him before he screws around in my tournament… again."

Getting closer to the exit, James took the hint and started to leaving with Zio in toe, but before he left, he looked back at the others one last time.

"Sorry guys, we'll catch up once I stop Joe from making a fool of himself again. Enjoy yourselves until the tournament starts and show Mantis around if you can."

With that, James left the room with Master Hand leaving shortly after.

Once they were gone, Mantis walked up to the girls. "So, there's a training room here?" he asked.

Ellie nodded. "Most of the fighters prefer to practice and perfect their skills before the tournament starts, so it's common for them to be there. In fact, I bet we can find the majority of them there."

Hearing this, Mantis grew interested on the idea of meeting the rest of the competition, as well as two men in particular; Graves's half-brother, Daniel and the nanite empowered vet Joe. After all, Noirs's arm was far from the only thing he had taken the liberty to research.

"Do you think you could show me where this room is. I would like to see it as well as meet the other fighters."

"Oh sure, we can show you there. You two coming?" Ellie asked as she turned to both Kimchi and Elizabeth.

The former however declined for the both of them. "We'll catch up, just let us eat something first. I haven't eaten anything since this morning." Kimichi answered.

"Alright then, just make sure you get there once you're done. See you two later."

Soon after Ellie and Mantis left leaving only Kimchi and Elizabeth in the lunch area.

Once the room was void of everyone else, the younger Lin sighed. "Man, it's great to see James, but I wish it was under better circumstances." Kimichi said sorrowfully.

Looking at her sister, Elizabeth placed a hand on her shoulder. "I know it's hard on you but remember why we're here. Participating in this tournament is fine, but we have to keep an eye out for anything suspicious, remember?" she reminded.

"I know Eliza, I know. It's just… when the seer said we would dispel a great evil two years ago, I never took her seriously and forgot when I went to the tournament. It was only around the time that Graves appeared that I remembered her words and realized they came true."

"That was something you should have known would happen, dear sister. Despite her methods, the Seers words of the future are almost never wrong. The fact that you were able to meet James and the others was practically a divine blessing when Graves revealed himself."

Turning back to her sister, Kimichi gave a solemn look, agreeing with her statement before continuing to talk.

"After that fight, I thought it was over and that we could all just live in peace. I was really looking forward to this tournament, as well as introducing you to all the friends I've made here. Everything was going so well, until the Seer gave me her next premonition."

Taking notice that her sister went silent Elizabeth decided to remind her of the words that the Seer said to them last month.

"'Come the day when legends gather, a dark evil will bring forth disaster.' As much as I know you don't want it to be true Karina, we are going to have to accept that something may indeed go wrong in this tournament. I still think it's best to warn Master Hand before the tournament starts."

"I told you before Eliza, I tried to tell him, but he didn't believe me. Since the incident, Master Hand expanded his defenses and began keeping a lookout for threats far and wide. So far, he found nothing so he thinks there is no cause to be alarmed. To be honest, I almost agree with him. We haven't found any threats ourselves at home and a few of the other Smashers said the same thing."

"And James, what did he say about it?"

Upon hearing her question, Kimchi shook her head as she waved her hands almost frantically. "Are you kidding, there was no way I could tell him anything about this. He was practically obsessed with looking for Noirs's home, not the mention all the training he had done. If we tell him about the Seers warning, he may try to cancel the tournament without proof of the premonition coming true. Hell, I don't even want to think what Master Hand would do if another one of his tournaments got messed with again."

"Karina!"

Elizabeth's voice made her sister shake in surprise and to a lesser extent fear. Though, it didn't take long for her to realize exactly why she had raised her.

"How many times do I have to tell you? Do not curse, least of all in front of me." Eliza lectured sternly. "I don't care how old you are, I will not allow my sister to use such foul language in my presence."

Kimchi sighed to the notion. No matter how old she got, Elizabeth would always remind her of her place as the younger sister. It's not bad that really, but there were times when she does a tad bit too well as her role of the older sibling.

"Now then," continued Elizabeth as she grabbed a nearby plate. "Since we're here, we will do our part and keep an eye out for anything in this tournament. If we're lucky enough, then maybe the Seers words will be wrong this time. Until then, we can still participate and have some fun while we're at it. Speaking of which…"

She turned and grabbed Kimichi's hand. "Let go and get this parfait you talked about. Ever since you told me about it, I've been dying to try it out."

Being pulled by her elder sibling, Kimchi smiled. Despite how strict and mature Elizabeth could act, she really does have a love for sweets.

'Even in the darkest of times, Elizabeth always reminds me of the good things, no matter how little.'

* * *

"Alright guys, here we are." Ethan announced, as he and the others walked into the training area.

Looking around the group saw the area was as large as they could remember, with there being certain spots where people were fighting.

Daniel smirked as he looked at the participants fighting. "Seems like a lot of people are here. I bet James would be ecstatic to see this."

Almost as if by reflex, Ethan whipped his head to his friend with a frown. "Either way, they won't even reach him. James is going to fight me in this tournament and I'll go through each one of them to make sure it happens."

Seeing how her brother was having a moment, Ally rolled her eyes. "How about you get some practice in before you start boasting. After all you don't want to be like Joe now do you?"

"You're honestly trying to compare me to that perverted dunce?" Ethan gasped as he placed a hand over his chest feigning offense. "Ally, I'm hurt."

August chuckled at the sight of the two playing around. She doesn't remember seeing the twins act like this in the last tournament so seeing this made her feel happy to have met up with them again.

"Nice to see you all made it." A new voice spoke up to her and the others.

The group turned their attention to the voice and were met with the familiar face of Luigi. He wasn't alone however, as beside him was a girl, who they could assume was a newcomer.

The girl was about 5'6" with a feminine figure. Her dark blond hair ended just below her shoulders with a side fringe. Her facial features consisted of a thin nose and small eyes with yellow irises.

She wore a black jumpsuit with yellow highlights around the neck, fingertips, end of the arms, legs and around the ridge of her shoes. A sliver belt was around her stomach with an 'S' shaped amulet in the middle and two red circles on each side of it. Finally, she had black glasses and a 'N' shaped amulet on her chest.

Seeing the two, Daniel was the first to greet them. "Nice to see you too, Luigi. Who's your friend?"

Turning back to the girl, Luigi introduced her. "This is Gabby Gadd, granddaughter of E. Gadd. She's also my ghost hunting partner from time to time whenever I'm free."

After saying this, some of the groups looked confused from the explanations with Dianna being the first to give her thoughts to the matter.

"Ghost hunting?" She repeated. "So that means you two are Ghost Busters or something?"

Gabby nodded with a sincere look. "In a way, yeah but don't think that it's as simple as it sounds." She continued. "Most of the ghost we hunt are a lot stronger than they look, and don't play around either."

While Dianna took the Gabby's words in consideration Ally decided it was her turn to ask questions. "You're a newcomer here right Gabby? You planning to become champion?"

Ally's comment caused her brother to turn his attention to Gabby, extremely curious to see what she would say. Even though her back was to him, his sister was doing well to hide her grin as she knew he was looking right at her.

Gabby shook her head quickly. "No, no, I have absolutely no wish to win this tournament. I just wanted to hang out with the others and improve my combat skills. I'm not really that good a fighter you see so I thought being here might help me learn a thing or two."

Hearing her reason, the twins gave a short nod to her answer. After this though, a blue blur came running by. Since he was in the tournament last time, it was easy to know exactly who the blur was.

Daniel looked over and saw Sonic and just like Luigi he wasn't alone.

Standing by him was a tall crimson hedgehog with emerald eyes. He wore a dark green shirt with a dark gray open overcoat/jacket. Two bold red stripes flowed in the middle of the jacket with a leather belt with various satchels on it. This belt looked to be holding up his navy-blue pants, with dark red shoes that had a single black stripe on them that run horizontally across them on his feet. One notable thing that was quick to see was that there was a sword placed within a sheath strapped on his back.

"Hey guys, good to see you again." Sonic greeted with a wave as Daniel and August did the same.

The red one was next to speak, shooting them a smile. "Hello Daniel, August. It's good seeing you two again. How have things been for you two lately?"

"It's been going well Rage." August replied both happy and a little surprised to see the crimson hedgehog at the tournament.

Ever since the last tournament, Rage became a bit more distant in terms of personality. Gone was the hedgehog who was more open to others, as he became more serious and would keep his emotions hidden.

This didn't change things between him and the friends he had made two years ago, but it had caused both August and Daniel to be a little concerned with the change. August was worried he might be over stressed or was dealing with things alone. Daniel on the other hand was sure that the actions of his brother might have been one of the factors for this change.

"So, where's James? I thought he was going to be here?" Rage asked.

Sonic chuckle and raised his arms in a lazy shrug. "It's James. Knowing him he's either saying "hello" to everyone or dealing with Joe."

Right when the blue blur mentioned Joe's name, Daniel frowned as he rolled his eyes. "Please don't mention that asshat. I just met him earlier and he pulled the same casual crap he always does. I swear when I see him, I am going to-"

"And here we are, my friends. This is the training area, where we can duke it out and smack one another senseless. So, what do you say Cloud? Do you want to go a few rounds? I am sure Samus wouldn't mind joining in, so we could have a triple threat, right Sam?"

"For the love of god, I thought you said you would stop calling me that name. Where's James when you need him? Even Daniel would do."

"Ha, please. I just outfoxed him a little while ago. Not only that, but he met up with the twins and Dianna. I bet they're still in the hallway right now, chatting up about the past and on how things have been going for them."

Hearing the familiar voices, the group turned to see Joe, Samus and the newcomer Cloud. As soon as they did however, Daniel wasted no time walking towards the former marine, moving quickly yet silently when he saw Joe was giving Samus his full attention, meaning his back was turned to him.

As she stood there, listening to Joe talk about how he gave Daniel the slip, Samus noticed the very same man they were talking about heading towards them.

A sly smile crossed her face under her helmet. "So, you're not afraid of running into Daniel? I mean, you make it sound like he was mad when he left."

"Me? Afraid of Daniel? Yeah right, I can handle him. Trust me, with all the training I did, I'm confident that I can deal with him even without my metal arm. Besides, since he got with August, I am sure he didn't keep up with his training."

At the mention of him not training, Daniel sped up more with a vein showing on his head. Throughout the course of two years, Daniel made sure to train at every given moment he had. The fact that Joe dared to say that he didn't put in any effort to train made him feel even more upset then he did earlier.

During this, Cloud took notice of how close Daniel was getting. Confused as to why Samus didn't say anything, he glanced at her while Joe was too busy talking.

The bounty hunter noticed his look and turned her head to him, Despite the fact she is wearing a helmet, Cloud could sense that she was giving a sly look of sorts, almost as if she wanted him to play along.

And play along he did.

"If you're so confident in your skills, then why didn't you stand your ground when he was mad? Are you afraid of him?"

"God no. The only thing scary about Daniel is when he goes all Dragon on ya, and even then, it's not anything I can't handle."

Just then a hand was on Joe's shoulder, making a firm grip tight enough to cause him discomfort. This was followed by a voice.

"So, you think you can beat me that easily huh?"

The former marine recognized the voice and tried to get out of the grip, only for Daniel to grab his arm and throw him across the room.

"Woah!" Shouted Joe as he flew high in the air.

Once he saw he was near the ground, he braced himself for the impact, only for something strange to happen.

A large violet colored hand came from the ground and grabbed him, though gentle enough to make sure that he wasn't hurt. Slowly that hand sank back to the floor, allowing him to stand on his two feet. As soon as he did, a voice spoke up.

"My, I heard of Raining Men, but I never actually thought I would see it happen in a tournament."

Joe dust himself off as he began to respond. "Yeah well trust me, next time it rains you won't see me fal-"

His words were cut by sheer silence as he saw the one that spoke. Before him a tall, and I mean tall woman dressed in black looking at him. She was curvy and slender with long legs, a beauty mark and grey eyes behind glasses. There was nothing to say but that she was indeed beautiful, so much in fact that Joe became silent due to her appearance.

Seeing the silent man in front of her, the woman made a small smirk. "What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?"

Realizing he was silent Joe shook his head. "Sorry, I was just amazed by your beauty. It's not every day such an attractive and alluring woman enters this tournament."

"Oh, really?"

"Oh yes, really." He said with a quick nod. "But since this is a place where fighting is as common as breathing, you'll need to prepare for a fight. May I suggest that you train with me. Together we can become stronger and maybe even get to know one another. In fact, I think the best way to do that is to go to the sauna that was made here recently."

"A sauna? Well I do like the sound of that. But I am not really looking forward of being alone. I so would like to have some company."

As soon as she said that, Joe grin wildly as she looked at her. "Then I will join you. In fact, I can even help you relax with a message. That is a great way to gain trust between two people and-"

"Hello Beyonetta." Daniel greeted as he and the others walked up to them.

The woman, now known as Beyonetta, turned to him with a raised hand. "Ah Daniel, it's been a dogs age. It's good to see you."

"Same to you. I see you've met Joe."

Beyonetta turned back to the former marine, who was looking between the two for a bit.

"Ah, so this is the infamous Joe you told me about. Well I don't see the problem. He was simply trying to give me advice and want to bond with me."

Everyone looked at the Umbra Witch with a confused expression. Joe has made himself known as a man who would hit on women a daily basis. To finally see a woman that not only took the banter but even make jokes about it was something that seem to be a bit… alien to them.

Beyonetta noticed this and raised a brow. "What? A girl can't flirt occasionally? Besides, he actually kind of funny if you ask me."

"Funny? I think annoying would be the proper word. This guy was a pain in the ass two years ago and he is doing his best to have a repeat of it now," Daniel said as he shot Joe a furious glare.

"Oh, come on man, are you're seriously still mad at me for that joke I did earlier?"

"Joke? You think it was a joke? You insulted my training, talked about me behind my back and made jokes about me and August having... having…"

The fury that Daniel had a moment ago began to die down as he thought back to the words that Joe said earlier. His face grew a tinge of red at the thought of it.

Joe saw this and began to slowly back away, only for a flow of sakura petals to block his path.

"The hell. August, why?" Joe asked as he looked at the girl.

She shook her head slowly to him. "Sorry Joe, but I think it's best for this to be settled now rather than later. You can't exactly outrun him forever, and we still have time before the tournament starts. Might as well have a round or two while we are here."

With that said, Daniel snapped out of his thoughts and stared back at Joe. "On that note I agree."

Know that there was no way out of this, the former marine finally gave in and made his decision.

"Alright then, I guess if you're so desperate to settle things, then let's go a few rounds. Just don't blame me when I beat you in front of August."

"Only if you don't mind that I'll kick your ass harder then everyone did the last time." Daniel retorted.

The two stared each other down with intensity as everyone looked at them with anticipation. Joe's metal hand balled up into a fist while Daniel's hand reached for his back, to grab something.

Just as they were ready to begin, a familiar voice spoke up, stopping the two.

"Finally, I found you two."

The two men, as well as everyone else in the group, turned to see the owner of the voice. There, standing just a few feet away from the exit, was James with Zio right by him.

"Master Hand was really upset with you Joe. Do you know how much time he put in to make this tournament possible? The last thing he needs is for you to come up with your crazy antics again." James lectured.

James's words caused everyone to turn their heads to him at this point, which made a rather big scene as a result.

While the veterans from last tournament weren't surprised seeing James, knowing that he liked to venture around the area and say, "hello" to everyone, the newcomers themselves weren't expecting such a thing. Sure, they were told James was not the type to sit around instead preferring to walking around and meet new faces, but to come to the training room before the tournament officially started?

This had an opportunity that no one wanted to pass up.

Joe looked around the area and saw everyone's eyes were now on the Champion.

He quickly ran to him and whispered. "James, the hell are you doing here? Your fair game in the training room since the tournament hasn't started yet. Get out before you're challenged."

While James was aware of that possibility, he slyly rolled his eyes as he looked up to see the others. Once he spotted some familiar faces, he raised a hand to them.

"Hey everyone, it's good to see you all here. I just met Kimchi and Ellie a while ago too."

"Wow, they both made it?" Ally asked.

"Yeah. In fact, I even met a few newcomers. How about you guys? Seen any new faces?"

It was at that moment Luigi decided to speak up. "Funny that you mention that James. This here is Gabby." he gestured to her. "She's a newcomer I've worked with from time to time back home."

The girl looked at James and extended a hand to which he shook.

"It's good to meet you Gabby." James greeted with a warm smile. "I hope you enjoy your time here."

"Thank you. I heard a lot about you from Mario and Luigi, Mr. Artemis. It's an honor to meet you."

"Likewise, and please, you don't need to call me Mr. Artemis, James is just fine. Any friend of Mario and Luigi's is a friend of mine."

Just then, Bayonetta came towards them one-eyed man. "So, you're the one Daniel told me so much about?" She asked, inspecting him with a curious look. "I got to say, I was expecting a bit more, but I trust that you can prove me wrong with action rather than appearance?"

Thinking back to his wife's words, James recalled how adamant Faye had been about being careful around Bayonetta. He remembered her saying she was very open about her flirtation as well as the use of sexual lingo.

"In battle, yes. I can guarantee once this tournament starts you won't be disappointed."

The moment he said that, James noticed a glint in her eye. Taking a second to look around, he saw everyone in ear shot was looking at him, it was then that it dawned on him the situation he had found himself in.

'I think Joe may have had a point with that warning earlier.'

At that moment, the Umbra Witch smirked and spread her arms out, making a cocky yet open gesture. "Well then, I guess it is rather fortunate that we are in the training room, now isn't it? We have time to spare a fight of sorts. What do you say James, you care to dance?"

Being challenge by the tall woman, James gave off a small smirk as he closed his black arm, causing a green aura to radiate from it.

"Why yes Bayonetta, I believe I would be honored to take this dance. Be warned though, I may be a little bit too much handle."

"Oh, don't worry darling. I have handle partners that are much bigger than you."

"That much I believe. But you should know that it's not always about size, but rather how one use it."

The two smiled at one another, both feeling excited and having some fun with their 'pillow talk' in the conversation. The others, however, had different opinions on the matter.

"James, for the love of God, stop it with the sexual lingo." Joe spoke up with his face having a small tint of red. "You're married for God's sake."

"Relax Joe. A small banter isn't bad."

"Yeah, but..." the former marine responded, only to find himself still at a loss for words.

Seeing this, Daniel decided to say something in Joe's place "Are you two really going to do this? Master Hand isn't the type who stands for early fighting before official matches."

"I'm sure it's okay." James reassured in a casual tone. "I wanted to test my skills anyway and a round or two isn't going to hurt anyone."

"On that I agree. Now then, care to get started." the witch responded as she pulled out several blue guns from her hands and feet.

Seeing this, the Smash Champion grabbed his sword and was ready to start only for a voice to speak up.

"Is there any chance that I could join?"

The two looked to the side and saw two men. One was in a white gi with a red headband and had black hair and brown eyes while the other was blond with blue eyes, wearing a red gi.

Recognizing the two immediately, James walked them and greeted the men. "Ryu, Ken, I've heard a lot about you two. How are you liking the place so far?"

The blond one, Ken, looked around with a smile. "We were a bit taken back at first, but it's really not so bad. The people here are cool, and there are so many fighters that Ryu and I are looking forward to facing in this tournament."

"At least, until we overheard you and Bayonetta getting ready to spar. Which compelled me to ask; can we join?" Ryu repeated.

Hearing this, Ethan decided things were starting to get out of hand. "Hold up, you mean to tell me that you two want to fight? Don't you know that the training room mainly supports one on one fights?"

"Actually, that's not the case anymore. Master Hand decided to increase the battle size of participants in the training room." Daniel explained. "He thought it would be a good idea as a lot of fighters aren't fond of waiting around. If I recall, I believe the number had been bumped up to eight."

Upon saying that, Ken smiled. "Well then that's perfect, because while we were walking around the place, we found a few others who wanted to take a crack at the champ. Ain't that right fellas?"

Taking a step back, James noticed two more people behind the martial artists. One was a young man with blond hair, wearing a red jacket with the red of attire being a black sweater, pants and shoes. What made him stand out the most though was a strange sword that he held. It was red sword with a large circular hole at the center.

The other was also a blond man, however he was rather tall and muscular. He wore leather armor that was mainly on his body and abdomen with brown boots, metal bands and a brown headband. He also had a short sword on his side and a chain whip on the other.

The two walked up and introduced themselves, with the young man being first.

"Hey, my name is Shulk. Nice to meet you."

He extended his hand to which James shook.

The other man was next, as he too shook James's hands. "I am Simon Belmont. It's an honor to meet you."

"Likewise. I only heard a little bit about you two. I am really happy that you made it to the tournament."

"When we heard about a place where heroes can fight one another, I grew curious. Now that I'm here I'm glad to have come. I never thought I would see so many people here, all in different shapes and sizes." Simon explained.

"I know the feeling, but trust me when I say you'll grow to get used to it. A lot of the people here are nice and you may find a kindred spirit or two here."

"On that notion, I think I might agree with you. But before that, I believe we heard about you getting ready to partake in a battle. Me and Shulk would like to join in if you are fine with it."

"Oh really? Well I am not one to turn down an invitation. What about you Bayonetta? Are you okay having a free for all?"

Bayonetta gave a warm smile to the idea. "Why not. The more the merrier."

"Alright then. Let's go and find a bigger stage to fight. Ryu, Ken are you ready?"

Ryu nodded as he began to follow, but Ken shook his head. "Sorry but I think I'll sit this one out. I promised a round with a large red cat I saw earlier. I'll speak to you guys later."

He then looked at Ryu as the two bumped fists. "Give them your best, buddy."

"I will. Good luck with your match Ken."

"Ha, who needs luck when you got skill? Later."

And with that, Ken walked away from the group, looking for this 'Red Cat' that he spoke of earlier.

Once he left, James, Ryu, Bayonetta and the others began to go to a bigger training area to spar.

As they did though, the others looked at them as Joe shook his head. "You know what to hell with it. I am not going to let an opportunity like this get away from me. I'm going to join in that fight. Daniel, are you with me? You still owe James a fight since the last tournament, remember?"

"Oh, I remember. Don't worry, I'm going to fight too. How else am I going to kick your ass for that comment you made earlier?"

Joe rolled his eyes after hearing that. "Just let it go. I mean we all know that you two are going to just get down to it and fu-"

"Finish that sentence and I will make you eat that metal arm of yours!" Daniel threatened with a piercing glare.

The yell caused the former marine to take step back. "Alright fine, I'll cool it with the jokes. Now are you coming or not?"

Daniel sighed a bit before responding. "Yeah, I'm coming. August, you want to join?"

His fiancé shook her head. "I think I'll sit this one out. Besides, I want to meet more familiar faces. Too bad they might miss the fight though."

Just then she felt a little nudge on her shoulder. She turned to see Zio looking at her. "Zio, why aren't you going with James?" She asked curiously, though consciously aware that the stallion wouldn't respond to her.

The large horse walked to her side and knelt down, just low enough for her to see the top of his back.

Ethan noticed this and quickly realized what was going on. "I think he wants you to ride him. Maybe that will help you meet the others and come back for the fight in time."

Hearing this, Ally smiled. "Yeah, that will work. Zio is very fast, so I'm sure that he will get you back in time." She encouraged.

Seeing where this was headed, Rage turned to Sonic. "You know things will go a lot faster if you go around and tell the others as well. Think you can make it?"

The blue blur smirked as he rubbed the underside of his nose in a boast of confidence. "Considerate it already done. Save me a seat when it starts."

In a blink of an eye Sonic vanished leaving a trail of blue behind him.

By that time August had gotten on Zio's back and looked back at Daniel. "I'll be quick, so don't worry about waiting for me okay? Just go out there and give it your best."

"Yes mam. Good luck," Daniel said with a wave of his hand.

August nodded and with that Zio started to run then vanished quickly.

Daniel turned to the others that were left. "So, you want to come and watch?" he asked, despite already knowing what their answer would be.

All of them nodded to the question, agreeing to go with him to the see the fight. Before they did however, Cloud spoke up.

"I want to join. The fight I mean."

Everyone looked at Cloud, seeing he was serious.

"Alright then," Daniel said as he looked at the Ex-SOLDIER. "Let's go. I'm sure James will be happy to know you're going to fight too."

With that said, Cloud followed him and the others as they headed off to meet up with James and the others.


	4. Chapter 4

"So how far are we from the training area?" Mantis asked.

The two left shortly behind James when Master Hand went to inform him of Joe's location. Normally they would have caught up to him by now, but Mantis mentioned to Ellie that he might have ridden Zio to get there faster.

"We're almost there. Once we pass this corner, I think we'll see the door."

"You sure? I heard that Master Hand made some improvements to the tournament this year. Wouldn't that mean the structures were changed as well?"

"Normally yes, but he mentioned which areas would remain the same. Luckily that also included the location of the training area." Ellie explained. "Personally, I think he kept it that way so anyone who was in the previous tournaments wouldn't have a hard time brushing up on their skills."

Taking in her words, Mantis mentally agreed with the notion. It wouldn't make sense to dramatically change everything, especially the main, intricate parts of the area.

 _'Guess that means the only ones who might need help getting around the area are the newcomers. Given how everyone acts around here though, I don't think they will find people who will decline the offer to help.'_

Just as he had that thought though, something strange happened, before the two of them a circular green portal manifested causing them to stop in their tracks.

Looking at it for a few moments, they saw someone stepping out of it.

What came out was a young man that stood at a height of five foot eight. He had black hair and brown eyes. They also noticed that he had a slight hunch and was a little on the chubby side. He wore a green t-shirt with a gray jacket, tan cargo shorts and sneakers. There was also a pair of purple headphones around his neck and a finger-less red glove on his left hand. One thing that stuck out though was that he had a brown messenger bag with pins attached to the strap.

"Man, that sauna was no joke. I never felt so good in my life." Said that mysterious man as the portal vanished. Once it did, he noticed the presence of Ellie and Mantis. "Oh, hey there. Are you guys entering the tournament too?"

"Yeah, we are. In fact, we are heading to the training room um…" Ellie answered with confusion. While she has seen a lot of people display a variety of powers and abilities, the power to create what looked to be portals was something that she didn't expect to see in the tournament.

The man noticed the girl's hesitation and realized something. "Oh, my name is Markus Sato. I'm a newcomer, so I kind of got lost. Thank god I met that Pit guy. He gave me some directions of key areas, such as the great sauna I mentioned before."

Mantis raised his brow a bit after hearing the explanation. _'A sauna? First a cafeteria and now a sauna? Is this a tournament or a resort?'_

His thoughts were cut off once his guide began to speak again. "Well my name is Ellie and this is Mantis. Nice to meet you Markus." Ellie greeted warmly.

Markus flashed a careless smile at them as he looked around. "So, you said you were heading to the training room huh? Hoping to find someone there?"

"Yes actually." Began Mantis. "We were heading over to see James and some of the other vets. Maybe even see if they were going to spar for the tournament."

"James?" Markus asked, raising his brow. "Do you mean the same guy from two years ago? That James?"

Ellie nods to his question. "Yeah. He's over there right now. Would you like to-"

Just then, out of nowhere, something large a black blur appeared behind Markus. Ellie and Mantis looked at it, causing Markus to turn around to see what it was. It was at that time that they saw August riding on Zio, with the woman in question given off a face of disbelief.

"I didn't even notice when you began to move. You really do run without motion, don't you Zio?" asked August, only to see the horse making a very small smirk.

"August? Is that you?" Ellie called out.

The girl in question looked up and smiled upon seeing a familiar face. "Ellie. James told me that he saw you and Kimchi back at the cafeteria. It's so good to see you."

"Same to you. But, why are you riding Zio?"

The girl's words sparked Mantis's interest as they looked at August.

To Markus, the sight of Zio was almost other worldly. The horse was big, yet he was able to get behind him without him even noticing. He only heard a rumor about a horse that is fast enough to cross worlds with speed, something that he can only do by using portals. He always just put it off as rumors, but upon meeting Zio, there may be truth to them after all.

As for Mantis, he was more focused on August. _'If memory serves, she's engaged to Daniel, Graves half-brother. If she's here, then that only confirms that he's here as well,'_

"Oh yeah, well you see Zio is helping me go around and round up some of our old friends. James and the others are going to have an 8-man sparring session."

"He what!?" Screamed Ellie in shock. Sure, she wasn't surprise to hear that James would get in a match before the tournament, especially if Joe and Daniel were involved, but an 8-man brawl was something that she, and perhaps a good deal of that others, didn't expect to happen.

"Wait, is that even possible?" Asked Markus. "I could have sworn that at best the limit was up to four people. And didn't the rules state that the training room would mainly support one-on-one matches for the tourney?"

It was at that point Mantis had remembered something and decided to chime in. "Actually, it was stated Master Hand updated the training room upwards to have eight participants to join. I asked one of the A. I's about it, and they stated that he put it in to speed up the tournament after that Tabuu incident. Once Graves came in and placed him under his control however, he abandoned the project entirely."

"That makes sense." Added August. "Master Hand did say that he was having lapse in memory when Graves came in the picture, and that he was slowly getting them back after the last tournament. If anything, he must have forgot about it for so long that he only remembered it once this tournament was already set."

"So, wait. Are you telling me that right now, there is a system that allows up to eight people to brawl, one of which is the current champ, and this system won't be used until the tournament is over?"

"That seems just about the gist of it, yeah." Answered Ellie.

"Well then, what the hell we are waiting for? There is no way I am going to miss this," Markus said as he opened another portal and looked backed at the others. "You guys coming or what?"

"No thanks. Zio and I need to find more people to spread the news." August answered as she patted the horse. "Go ahead though, we won't be long, right Zio."

The black stallion slowly nod to the statement.

"Alright then. Later."

Markus then walked into the portal and was followed by Ellie.

Mantis walked to it, but stopped as he recalled something. "Hey August. About James and his arm, does he…"

Sadly, he saw that both the girl and her horse were gone. He shook his head in frustration. _'I wanted to ask her about James's arm. Guess I'll just have to ask him myself once the fight is over.'_

With that thought in mind, the boy walked into the portal as it soon closed.

* * *

"That was delicious. Karina, I never that I would eat something as good as the sweets back home, but I was wrong. We simply must take some home with us after tournament."

"Well I am sure that Master Hand will be okay letting us take some home. Though think you should slow down, all of these sweets won't do well once the tournament starts."

The elder sister rolled her eyes a bit as she responds. "Alright, I'll stop. Guess I went a little bit overboard with the portions."

"I'll say. Hope you won't get mad once you gain a few more pounds."

"Oh please. With this tournament I will be burning more calories than I am gaining. Before we go though, I wanted to get that one cupcake at the stand. Just let me get that and we will go out and meet with your friends."

 _'Eating all that and she still want something else? Maybe it's that sweets that make her look younger than me?'_ Kimchi thought at she saw her sister walking towards that last sweet that she wanted. As she did though, she noticed another woman walking towards it.

The woman was short, at best five foot even, and had a physicality that made her look small, thin and fragile. Her hair wad short and white with her eyes being blue. She even had baby face facial features like her sister. Her clothing even stick out, as she wore a black cape with a silver crescent and a black eye patch with silver skulls and crossbones on it. Under the cape, Kimchi could see that she wore a black tank top and a black skirt that are hemmed with white, as well as a pair of black dress shoes.

The younger Lin sister stared at the girl with confusion. _'I never seen that person before. She has to a be newcomer.'_

She then saw that they were close to the cupcake, and right when they at reach, both of the hand touched the other as they grabbed it.

"Huh?" said Elizabeth as she saw the hand that was grabbing the cupcake. She turned her head and saw the girl, who gave her the same look.

"Oh, hello young lady. I am sorry but I am taking this cupcake so…"

This went on deaf ears as the smaller girl gave her response to the elder Lin. "I saw you eat all of those sweets. You even ate more than me and Aurora did when we got here. Just give this one up, you already gained god know how many calories anyway."

Elizabeth felt her face heating up after having the girl bring up about how much she ate. "Now listen here, young lady. You do not speak to an adult like that."

This time the girl stared her down as her face gained a tinge of red. "Adult? You look like a kid. If anything, I am the adult here. I'm twenty-two."

"Twenty-two?" asked Elizabeth in shock.

Seeing her reaction, the girl gave a almost smug grin and nods to her reaction. "Yes, now I will be taking that cupca-"

"Hahahaha."

The young girls' words were cutoff as the Elder Lins laughter made her stop mid-sentenced.

"You mean to say that your twenty-two? Looking like that?"

"Yeah, what of it? How old are you anyway? 14? 15?"

"I'm twenty."

Hearing this answer made the girl look at Elizabeth with shock. "What? You mean your twenty?"

It was Elizabeth turn to be smug as she shot the girl a similar smile that she gave her earlier. "Oh yes, that's right. I have to say though; I am very sorry to be so rude to someone who is my elder. It's just that you looked so young, that I thought you were looking for your mother. I promise that next I won't mistake you for a 10-year-old next time."

The girl was able to sense the implications that Elizabeth was sending out, and her face got red from that small insults. Turning back to the cupcake, she quickly took and ate it as fast as possible. This made Elizabeth upset and shocked.

"How dare you, you wretched gremlin!"

"Stuck up jerk!"

The two stared one another down and looked to be ready to go to blows, only for Kimchi to come in and grabbed her sister by the shoulder.

"Come on Elizabeth, it's just a cupcake. You know it's not something worth to fight over. And you know that it's not nice to make fun of people base on looks either."

The Elder Lin gave out small sigh and looked at the girl. "I apologized. I shouldn't have insulted you like that."

She then extended her hand to the girl, who looked at it for a second and extended her own to shook it.

"Apology accepted. I should apologize too. Being hungry for sweets is not an excuse for me to be rude."

The two shook hands as another girl came by. This one was much taller, being about five foot seven inches. Her face was more mature looking than the other girls, and her skin was a bit pale with a pinkish touch. She had wavy pink hair that reach to her waist, with violet eyes. She wore a fancy-dress shirt, a purple cape with a pink heart on it, khakis and combat boots with tights.

"Hey Luna, who are your friends?"

"Oh, Aurora. This are, um…"

Seeing a chance to introduce themselves, Elizabeth spoke up. "I am Elizabeth Lin, and this here is my younger sister Karina Lin. But you can call us Eliza and Kimchi for short."

Smiling to this, the first girl spoke as she introduces her and her friend. "My name is Lunelle Spirithave, or Luna for short, and this also my younger sister, Aurora Spirithave."

Kimchi flashed a face of surprised as well as a grin. "You two are sister too? What a coincidence. Let me guess, Luna was adopted too right?"

The taller girl raised a brow to this. "How did you know that?"

Both of the Lin sisters had wide eyes as they turned to one another then back at them as Elizabeth answered. "That was a guess. You see I myself am adopted too and became Karina's older sister."

At that point it was the Spirithaves sister time to be shocked.

"Wow, we have so much in common. You don't think that we are related, or something do you?" Luna asked as she looked at her younger sister.

Aurora shook her head. "Unless you believe in reincarnation or dimensional duplicates, then no. But this really is something. To think that worlds apart there is a pair of sisters that have similar features, as well as similar backgrounds like us. And to meet them here, of all places. You might just say that this is fate."

The Lins smiled at the complement, happy to have met some new friends.

"Glad to see that you girls are enjoying yourselves." Came a familiar voice.

The four turned to see the famous blue blur sitting on a chair, chili dog in hand.

"Sonic?" Kimchi spoked as she walked up to him. "What are you doing here?"

Sonic smirked as he tossed the chili dog into his mouth and ate it with ease. "Well I came by to tell you and anyone else I came across that James, Daniel, Joe and a few newcomers are going to have a sparring match. You interested in watching, girls?"

Sonic's words rang through their heads as Aurora spoke up first. "James, as in James Artemis?"

"The one and the same, yes." the blue blur answered.

"That's the man you wanted see, right Aurora." Luna asked, as her sister nodded. She then looked back at Sonic. "Where is he again?"

"The training area. I would hurry if I were you. The fight could start in any second."

Hearing enough, Kimchi grabbed both of the Spirithaves sisters by the hand and flashed a smile. "I know the way. Follow me and we'll be there before they even get started."

The two nods to her as she began to run with both of the sisters in tow. Elizabeth, who was left behind, sighed as she looked at Sonic.

"Is it always like this around here?"

The blue blur gave a small laugh as he answered back. "Oh, this is nothing. You should have seen how it was two years ago. This is tame by comparison."

With that said, he got to his feet and stretched his legs. "Alright, I think I got a few more places to visit before I am done. You need any help getting to the room?"

"No thanks I am fine. I can find my own way. Thank you for the offer though. See you at the fight?"

"You bet. Later."

Sonic then sped off as Elizabeth began to head after her sister.

* * *

"Ya!"

A loud yell was heard as the sound of blades clashed together.

In a large Coliseum area that was similar to the one that James favor, two figures fought.

One was a man of blue hair, eyes and a headband. He had a red cape, with armor on the left shoulder, body and legs with white pants. In his hands was a large golden sword with a black handle.

The other was a young man, looking to be about twelve, with a slim build and black hair. His eyes were a dark shade of blue and he stood at a height of five foot three. His attire consisted of a navy-blue jacket, a black shirt and pants with brown boots. He also held a Katana with an aquamarine gem at the hilt.

The two stared one another down until the younger of the two made the first move.

He swung the blade at the side, only for it to be blocked. Seeing that his attempt failed, he drew the katana back and go for a stab but missed as the older man stepped to the side.

"I got you!" yelled the man as he stabbed the ground under the boy.

The boy knew what he planning though so he jumped away as blue flames raised from the ground where he once stood.

The man swiped the flames away as he stared down his opponent. He gripped his sword with both hands as he got ready to charge to him.

Seeing this, the boy did the same, raising the blade near his head and pointed it to the man. A blue shine began to radiate from the hilt as blur flames began to swirl around the man's golden blade.

The two was ready to continue their fight, feeling the intensity getting heavier, only to stop as a voice called out.

"Ike? Is that you? Who the hell did you eat to get so big?"

The two stopped as the man, Ike looked towards the voice and saw who it was.

"It's called exercise and training Joe. That and good dieting help, I got Mist to thank for that."

Joe rolled his eyes as he, Daniel, and Cloud followed James and the others. Once Ike saw the Smash Champion, he walked up to him.

"James, it good to see you. How's your family?"

"They are doing great. Rachel really appreciated the food that Mist made for her last week. I normally don't eat stew that much, but it was really good."

"If anything, I should thank you. After Faye taught Mist how to cook, she been getting better and better. You have no idea how much we are indebted to you guys for that."

"Oh, come on, her cooking wasn't that bad."

After saying that, James saw Ikes face darkened a bit as he recalls all of Mist previous cooking. "No, just take my word for it, you guys really did save us in a way by teaching her how to cook."

Seeing Ike face getting serious about the comment, James decided that it was best to just drop it as he made a sheepish smile. "Oh, well your welcome then I guess."

With the subject discussed James took noticed of the young boy that was with Ike.

"Hello there. You were sparing with Ike?"

This caught the boy's attention as he nodded. "Yes. I am Wade Arlen. It's an honor to meet you." He introduced.

"Like wise Wade. I see that you were holding your own against my friend here. That's not something that should be scoffed at. Ike here is physically one of the strongest swordsmen here, so going toe to toe to him is not easy."

James compliment caused Wade to feel proud. He was aware of how strong his opponent was, so being recognized for holding his own against him made him feel rather accomplished.

Joe cut in the conversation doing some quick stretching. "Alright guys, you need to go and give use some room. Today is the day that the 'Black King' get his ass kicked."

This caused Wade to look at the others by James before turning his attention back to the man in question. "Wait, you guys are going to fight?"

"Yes. Apparently, there's an 8-man royal that Master Hand made." James explained. "We are planning to have quick spar before the tournament starts."

"Really?" Ike asked in awe. "I can't wait to see this. Come on Wade, let's go to the stands. I have a feeling we'll be meeting up with the rest of the vets and newcomers there."

The young swordsman understood and followed Ike as the eight fighters were left alone on the field.

"So, how do we start?" Cloud asked as he looked around the Coliseum.

It was at that point Raven, the A.I. Smash Assistant, revealed herself to the group.

"Well normally you select a stage to fight in. Now you can fight here if you wish, or you can pick a different one entirely."

Bayonetta grew curious about that statement. "Exactly how many stages are there to fight in?"

"Well over a hundred. Master Hand was working hard to get as many stages as possible, some from other worlds even."

"Over a hundred?" Shulk repeated briefly taken back. "Man, that's a lot. Do you have any recommendations?"

Raven recalled something that made her smirk. "There is a certain stage that was made recently. It's something that Master Hand made just for James."

The man in question whipped his head in Raven's direction. "For me? He never said anything about that?"

"Well of course not silly. You should know him, as well as he knows you by now. He knew you would have asked him not to do it."

"Of course I would have. Having my own stage might be a little much."

Joe rolled his eyes, getting impatient. "Oh, come on James, let's at least see what it looks like. Hell, we can fight in it."

Daniel nods to the idea. "I think Joe has a good point. It wouldn't hurt would it?"

Feeling that he lost this discussion, James sighed. "Alright Raven, let's see it."

"Good choice." She responded, snapping her fingers.

The entire area changed as day became dark. In the sky, a black sun was seen with what looked to be a golden circular aura around it. The coliseum disappeared, being replaced with a large grassy field with a waterfall in the background.

Looking around, they could all see that they were on a large and spacious plateau with a long drop on the way down.

James looked around the area as Raven spoke on the area. "It's still a work in progress, but once this tournament is in full swing it might get more updates."

The champion smiled as he looked to her. "I like it. I can't wait to see what it'll look like when its finished." He then turned to the rest of the group. "So, are all of you ready?"

They all gave a silent confirmation as they moved away from one another giving each other room.

James smiled at this as he withdrew his sword. "Alright then, let's begin."

* * *

Back at the stands, Samus, Ally, Diana and Ethan looked on as she saw the everyone was getting ready. Though a part of her wanted to join in the fight, she was more curious to see just how strong the others has gotten over time.

"This will be quite a show, right guys?"

The four turned to the voice and spotted Ike and Wade.

Ethan was the first to greet them with a small smile on his face. "Ike, nice to see you again. So, who do you think is going to win this one?"

Ike looked back at the group and shrugged. "Honestly I don't know. Knowing James, I don't think he would go all out unless he needed to."

Samus turned back to the eight and looked at James. "Yeah, at best I'm sure he'll use the Golden Phantasm. As for the Black King form? I'm pretty sure he'll keep that trick for the vets."

Wade raised a brow. "Golden Phantasm? Black King? Are those his moves?"

They all stared back at the boy, Ike being the first to respond. "You don't know?"

Wade shook his head but before anything else could be said a voice spoke out.

"Those are his transformations."

The group turned towards to the voice and saw Mantis, Ellie and Markus arriving.

"James acquired them during the incident two years." Mantis further explained. "They grant him power as well as new abilities. They're also what helped him beat Graves."

Ellie turn back to the newcomer with a raised brow. "You're pretty informed on the incident, huh?"

"What can I say? I like to do my homework." Mantis replied, smirking.

Ally then noticed something. "Hey where a-"

"I'm back." Spoke a familiar voice.

Looking to the other side of the stands, they saw August riding on Zio. The woman got off the steeds back as she patted his head.

"You're a good horse Zio. And so fast too."

Just then Sonic came by and saw that Zio had gotten there first.

"You beat me here? You really are fast." Sonic complimented.

Zio gave a small grin to the hedgehog, who shook his head and smiled back.

"How about we have our own race once this whole tournament thing is over. That sound good to you?"

The black stallion looked at Sonic and nodded. However, he also kept staring at him for a second and smiled.

Sonic grew confused to this, missing James's chuckling.

This was caught by Ally however, as she looked to her twin. "Hey James just chuckled. What do you think that's about?"

"I don't know but be quiet. The fight is about to begin."

* * *

James and the others circled around one another, sizing each other up. The air was thick with intensity and they could all feel it.

 _'Looks like everyone's ready. Now the question is; who will make the first move?'_

Looking among the fighters in front of him, James noticed Daniel's right hand going for his gun while the other was heading for his back.

 _'I know Daniel, he wouldn't make the first move unless he needed to. In a situation like this though, even he knows it would be unwise to move first unless you start strong.'_

James looked at the others and took noticed of their stances. Ryu stood strong, fists clenched and his eyes kept on everyone. Simon took out his whip and had it spinning, ready to attack at any moment. Bayonetta looked to be the most relaxed, guns still in hand and smiling with confidence. Shulk drew his sword and looked ready to move as soon as possible. Cloud grabbed hold of his buster sword with two hands, keeping it in front of him. Joe kept his right hand relaxed, yet clenched his metal hand tight, cocked backed near his sides.

 _'Even Joe is ready. Looks like this will be a good fight indeed.'_

Just then a cloud went over the black sun, cloaking the area in darkness, and even then, they all kept their eyes on one another. They seemed to be aware that once the light returned one of them would make the first move.

James looked up slightly and saw the cloud was almost out of the sun's way. He looked back at group and saw everyone getting ready to attack, almost as if they are all predators ready to fight.

Eventually, the light returned, and the battle begun.

"You're mine, James!" Joe as he leap in the air and charged at the champion with his metal arm pulled back, ready to deliver a punch.

 _'I knew you would be first Joe. That's just like you.'_ James thought as he ducked under the strike and rolled forward.

He turned around, ready to fight with Joe, but noticed Ryu in the air, performing a kick aimed at the former Marine.

 _'Looks like Joe going to have his hands full. Now let's see how good Cloud-'_

Something inside James clicked as he raised his sword and heard it clashed with another blade. He turned and saw Daniel, holding his silver claymore in his hands.

"Sorry James, but I waited two years to get another crack at you. There no way I am going to miss this chance."

"Really, and what about the others?"

"They're all busy with their own partners. Go ahead, see for yourself."

Doing as he said, James scanned the area and saw Daniel was right.

Bayonetta was busy with Simon, dodging multiple attacks from his morning star and countering by firing gun shots at him, only for him to dodge the projectiles as well. Cloud was clashing blades with Shulk, both trading swipes as they either blocked, parried or dodged one another. Finally, Joe and Ryu were duking it out, with the Street Fighter making it difficult for Joe to keep up as he landed blow after blow.

"I guess it's just you and me then. Let's dance." James broke off Daniel, gaining some distance from him as he noticed Daniel pulling out his black revolver, which made him in turn grab his Night Shooter.

They took aim and fired, only for the bullets to collide and cancel each other out.

Daniel pressed forward, ready to resume sword-to-sword combat. As he did though, he noticed a red glow coming off Golden Dawn, causing him to dash towards James with his sword, leaving a trail of blue energy around it.

His blade met with the Champions and a flash of red and blue shined in the field, nearly causing the fighters to topple over.

James looked at Daniel's claymore and smirked. "So, I was right you really have learned how to use draconic energy at will."

Daniel looked shocked for a quick second before he smiled in excitement. "Been keeping up on me, have you? That's not like you James. Worried I might beat you?"

"Not at all. If you win, you win. If I lose, I lose. Besides..."

James moved his sword back as he lifted his leg planning to deliver a kick to his opponent.

The attack missed as Daniel ducked and tried to capitalize on the attack, only see the foot coming back, James's heel connected to his face causing him to hit the ground, but he recovered quickly, getting back to his feet, looking back at James.

"I still remember the energy of your Legion form. There were times when I could feel it coming off of you, though it wasn't as strong as it is now. My guess was that you were trying to learn how to use power from it without transforming. Looks like I was right."

Daniel chuckled, grabbing his sword and once again imbuing it with dragon energy. "So, you figured out that much huh? Well then, let's see how it stacks up to the Eye of Dragoon."

With that said, he dashed in as the red gem in Golden Dawn radiated with life. Blue meets red once again as another flash of the colors sparked to life once again.

"Shoryuken!" shouted Ryu as he soared into the air, his fist making contact with Joe's metal forearm blocking his attack. The attack raised him high in the air as he spun back and landed a fair distance from Street Fighter.

He looked at his metal arm and sighed in relief, seeing it wasn't broken. "Jesus man, I know you're strong, but what the hell? I thought you broke my new arm!"

"This is a fight. You should be prepared for things like that to happen."

"Well yeah, but I didn't think I would meet someone crazy enough to punch my arm."

Ryu said nothing as he got back in his stance, causing Joe to get ready.

He dashed forward to Joe, aiming a left hook to his temple, but it only hit air as Joe ducked at the last second and landed a right uppercut to his abdomen, followed with another to his jaw.

The blow caused the Street Fighter to fly to the air, but was able to recover as he cupped his hand together and blue light emit from his palms.

"Hadouken!"

The blue projectile came down on Joe, who raised his metal arm towards that blast.

This action confused Ryu, seeing Joe not even bothering to block it. However, his confusion evaporated once he noticed a surge of electricity flowing through the metal arm.

The fingers bent backwards as a hole in the palm revealed itself, becoming larger and larger until it reaches its full shape. Once it did, Ryu looked with awe as he recognized what the arm looked like.

Joe's metal arm had turned into a blaster of some, no different from that of Mega Man's and X's Mega Buster.

The former marine took aim at Ryu, as well as the Hadouken in front of him, and fired, releasing a blue blast of electricity towards the projectile. The two clashed and ended in a flash of blue light with flair of electrical sparks flashing for a moment before disappearing.

The street fighter landed on the ground softly, staring at Joe with a face of awe. "Amazing. I heard about you losing your arm, but to think you would replace it with not only a prosthetic, but one that can transform into an arm canon."

Joe's arm changed back to normal, his fingers curling to a fist as he took a stance. "Thank you. You won't believe the trouble I went through to get this thing. I've been itching to show this thing off, and what do you know, I have the perfect person to test it out on."

They then went back to a silent stare down until they both dashed towards one another.

Joe led the first strike by aiming a right hook at Ryu's face but missed and received a knee to the abdomen, which allowed Ryu to follow up with a hook to his left temple.

Despite the pain he felt from the hit, Joe stood his ground and moved his head forward, headbutting Ryu with enough force to make him stagger back. Joe saw this as an opportunity and rushed forward while leaping in the air, aiming a punch for Ryu's face.

If he had taken noticed to the look at his opponent's eye though, he would have seen Ryu's eyes coming alive, a fire burning in them.

The World Warrior ducked, dodging the attack while Joe was still in the air. Seeing this, he had a bad feeling as he had a strong suspicion as what Ryu was going to do.

Sadly, for him, he was right.

"Shin!"

Ryu raised his left fist, hitting Joe right at the gut, knocking the wind out him. This blow caused his jaw to be exposed, something Ryu instinctively went for as he raised his right fist.

"Shoryuken!"

The final blow was so strong that not only did it send both of them high into the air, but caused large cracks on the ground. This made the others cease their own fighting to look at what happened. As they did though, they saw that Ryu was still not done, as he began to spin rapidly.

"Shin Tatsumaki Senpukyaku!"

He delivered a spinning kick so fast and devastating that the fighters felt the wind picking up more and more until something like a tornado or maelstrom appeared.

James and Daniel stabbed the ground to keep them in place as they looked upon the sheer power that Ryu was displaying.

"Do you think Joe is okay?" Daniel asked, looking at the one-eyed warrior.

James gave a nod as he looked back at the action. "Of course, he is. Joe may not look it, but he can take a lot more than something like that. If anything, this is just going to make him more serious and pull out all stops to win."

Back at the battle, the wind died down as Joe and Ryu began to fall back down. Seeing that his opponent was out of it, Ryu cupped his hands back together, and was ready to unleash a stronger variant of his hadouken.

Before he did, he saw electricity sparking from Joe's metal arm. It started small but then spread to his body for a split second until his body vanished.

Seeing this, Ryu concentration was broke as he looked around, not finding Joe anywhere. "Wh-where did he go?"

It was then that he felt an attack at his back that was strong enough to send him down to the ground. Before he crashed upon the earth, he was able to use his hands to recover and catch himself, allowing him to land on his feet.

Ryu turned back and saw nothing but a fist heading his was, sending him flying across the area until he stomped his feet to the ground, skidding to a stop. He looked around and noticed Joe still was nowhere in sight.

Just then another blow came to him from the left, hitting him at the face with enough force to make him spin in the air. This was followed up with another blow that sent him to the ground, but Ryu was able to land on his hands and knees and roll away for some distance as he looked around to find Joe.

Seeing that once again he was nowhere to be found, the World Warrior regained focus as he closed his eyes and steady his breathing.

Everything to him became blank, it became quiet. There was nothing but him and him alone. The very existence of the fighters, of the crowd or even the very stage was all gone. It was all a blank.

All of it, except a trail of light wen to him at full speed, causing to react.

"Got you!"

Ryu raised his guard perfectly, blocking consecutive strikes until he reached out a grabbed a fist. Once he did, he saw he it belonged to and what was hitting him the whole time.

It was Joe, only there was sparks of electricity going through his body, shining similar to Lucario's aura.

He looked at the Street Fighter and grinned. "Glad to see that you were able to catch me. Honestly I felt like I was bullying you with all the hits I was able to get."

He raised the other hand and went to hit Ryu, but it was caught by the other hand. Realizing this, he jumped up and sent both of his feet to Ryu's face, causing him to let go of his hands and blocked the attack, creating distance between the two.

Once Joe landed on the ground, he turned his arm back in to a blaster and fired right when Ryu responded with a Hadouken.

* * *

"Damn, did you saw that? When the hell did Joe got so fast all of a sudden?" Ethan remarked, as the battle continued.

Gabby turned to the male Chrome twin. "No clue. I am guessing that it's related to that new arm of his. You saw how there was power coming off it before it flowed throughout his body? Maybe it's running off a strange power source of some kind?"

Before the matter could be discussed any further, footsteps could be heard by the door.

They turned to see Kimchi, Luna, Aurora and her sister Eliza arrived. The younger Lin looked at the fight and then turned to the others. "How long ago since they started?"

"About a few minutes ago." Markus. "You should have seen it. That one guy with metal arm was decimating the karate guy, knocking him all around. Then that Bayonetta chick was dancing around the whip guy, who was dodging all of her pots shots and throwing axes and crosses at her. Then those two blond swords were fighting, ducking their swipes and cuts and-"

Just then Mantis cut in as he looked at the girls. "You didn't miss much. There all just getting a feel for each other."

Kimchi let loose a sigh of relief as she looked at the fight. She then looked at Aurora and recalled the earlier events.

"Hey Aurora, look. That James down there, fighting with another friend of mine name Daniel."

Hearing this, both the Spirithaves looked down below and saw the fight. Once she saw James, Aurora gave him her absolute attention, making a small smile as the fight went on.

Noticing this, Samus went to Kimchi and talked to her. "So, who are your friends?"

"They are the Spirithaves sisters, Luna and Aurora. I met them at the cafeteria room. Aurora really wanted to meet James, I thought that I could help introduce her to him."

The bounty hunter nods to this and then looked at Eliza. "And her?"

She turned back and saw who she was speaking about. "That is my older sister Elizabeth. Or Eliza for short. Come and say hi, sis."

The elder Lin came forward, looking at the others. Once her eyes landed on a certain individual however, she gasped in shock.

"Is... is that Ike, the Radiant Hero?"

Her younger sister nods as she gave her a puzzled look. "I thought I told you about the heroes from our time being here. Or, is it our time but different world? Or maybe it's the other way around."

Thinking about it further caused Kimchi to become confused while Ike walked up to her sister.

"So, you're Kimchi's sister? It's good to meet you. Seems like your aware about me, so I'm guessing that I was a hero in your world, right?"

"Without a doubt yes! Your credited as being the strongest hero back home. To actually meet them man that wield the Ragnell, I cannot think of meeting anyone else that is just as strong, famous or even-"

"Oh, hey Marth." Ike cut in as Elizabeth turned around and saw Ike with Iniabi close by.

"Hello Ike, Kimchi, everyone. Happy to see that everyone is here." The Altean Swordsman then noticed Eliza; whose mouth was agape upon seeing the famous Hero King. "Hello their mam. Are you OK?"

The elder Lin felt her face getting red as she nearly fell, only for her sister to catch her. "It's Lord Marth… Lord Marth the legendary Hero King… I must be dreaming…" Her words soon fade as she lost consciousness from sheer excitement.

Iniabi, seeing this, looked at the younger Lin. "I understand how she feels. I almost did the same thing when I saw him."

"Yeah. Despite how she acts, she is a bit of a fan girl for the legendary heroes."

The two smiled and looked at one another, only to be surprised and confused as they took noticed of the others clothing.

"Are you a Tactician? So am I! That's amazing!" they both said at the same time, happy and giddy that they met someone of the similar class as them.

Just then another flash of red and blue cover the area as they looked at the fight.

* * *

Claymore and Sword met as both James and Daniel were locked in combat. The power surging from their blades was basically lighting up the area as they continued their duel, the silver claymore coming to James side as the Golden Dawn blocked it, allowing James to push through, going for a headbutt. Daniel saw this and jumped away, only for the champion to dashed forward and go for a slash.

Though it was blocked, the sheer power of the blow made Daniel flew back, near the edge of the plateau. He managed to get on one knee, breathing hard from the fight as he looked at his friend. "You really have gotten better. I am having a hard time keeping up here."

James smirked as he walked to him. "You can't fool me Daniel, I can see right through you. While you can use your draconic energy, it drains you to keep using it with transforming right?"

Graves's half-brother was surprised but chuckled as he slowly rose to his feet. "Guess I can't fool you. Yeah, using the ability takes a lot out of me, however…"

He then pointed his sword towards James, giving him a serious look. "Don't you dare take that as a reason to hold back. Mock battle or not, I owe you a fight and I am going to give you all I got."

A face of bewilderment was on James face for a second, astonished at how much Daniel wanted this. A small chuckle came from his lips, raising sword and getting in to his stance. "Alright then Daniel, lets continue with our fight."

The young swordsman put both hands on his sword, blue energy swirling around his blade once again. "Good."

Daniel then leap into the air, prepared to resume the fighting with the champion. As he did though, a chain wrapped around his leg while he was in the air and pulled him away.

"What the!?" he shouted as he landed on the ground and looked at the perpetrator, seeing Simon with his Morning star in his hand.

"Simon? I thought you were fighting Bayonetta." James asked with a perplexing look, only to turn and slice the air, with split bullets falling to the ground.

Looking to where the bullets came from, he saw the Umbra Witch herself, her guns pointed at him.

"Well you didn't really think that we would have the same partner all day now, did you? This is a party, dear. Switching partners is basically the routine."

She continued her shots; each bullet being cut by James with ease until he pulled out Night Shooter and took aim.

His rounds met the witches, and despite the fact that Bayonetta had two guns vs his one, James was able to shoot each round with impressive speed.

With each round canceling each other out, the two walked closer and closer until Bayonetta took a chance and summoned two curved swords in her hands as she dashed forward to slash him, only for both of them to clash with James's sword.

The two looked at another, giving a strange smile of excitement as James began to speak. "I guess you're right. Besides, it'd be a shame if I didn't get to dance with the only woman in this 'party' now wouldn't it."

"Exactly. Now, treat me nicely. Wouldn't want the fun to end too soon now, would we."

The two broke off as the witch threw a punching motion, which was followed by the same large hand that James saw Joe caught earlier.

He moved out of the way, only to see another hand coming his way, prompting him to leap up and dodge it again. Taking aim, he shot fire at her but saw that the large arms blocked it at the last second.

The arms disappeared as James and saw Bayonetta gone as well. Before he even looked, he instinctively raised his arm above his head and blocked two swords with his black arm.

James looked up and saw the Umbra Witch in the air, most likely using the arms as a distraction to make a sneak attack.

"Well looks like you aren't easy to fool, are you?" she asked with a sense of humor in her voice.

The two landed on the floor as they resumed their battle.

Back with Daniel, the young swordsman blocked a thrown ax from Simon as he gave out a few shots from his gun. The bullets missed as the Belmont Warrior used the Morning Star to hit Daniel with enough force to send him flying near the end of plateau, only for him to stop himself by stabbing the ground and sliding just a few feet from the edge.

Daniel stood up but placed a hand over his abdomen. While it was still a mock battle and there were no fatal wounds to suffer from, that still didn't change the fact that it hurt.

"That's one hell of a weapon there Simon. Packs a serious punch."

Simon smirked as he swung it by his side. "It should. While it's not the Vampire Killer, the Morning Star is still a powerful weapon that even Dracula would think twice to toy with."

With that he swung it at Daniel once again, only for it to miss as his target ducked under it and dashed towards him, but he saw Simon making another swing with his ax, so he blocked it with his sword, making the Belmont Warrior stumble back.

As he did, he pulled the chain back, making the Morning Star return to him in an attempt to hit Daniel from the back. Unfortunately for him Daniel pulled out his gun and without even looking, shot at it.

The shot made the spiked ball go off course, allowing Daniel to go in for a swipe, hitting Simon in the chest with one hit and then another until he finished with an upward strike, sending him to the air.

Simon landed on his back, but quickly got back to his feet. His eyes went to his chest until he shook his head with a smile.

Daniel saw this and knew what was going through his head. "Still not used to the whole 'no blood, no dying' part huh?" he asked.

Simon nodded. "Being in countless fights kind of does that to you. I'm still in a bit of shock about this whole thing myself actually. Never would I thought that I'd be here, meeting all these people and even fighting them. It all feels so…"

"Bizarre?"

Daniel finished Simon's words, who once again nodded his head to it. He then got back into a fighting stance as he looked at him. "You get used to it."

At another part of the area, both Ryu and Joe shot off another projectile as Cloud and Shulk sliced them away, making the two go back to back.

"Jesus man, I really am beginning to hate swordsmen." Joe replied as he saw Cloud performed a blade beam, slashing his sword and sending a wave of energy to them.

Both him and Ryu saw this and jumped out of the way. As they did though, the blast continued forward, heading straight for Shulk instead. Seeing it coming, he raised his sword as yellow aura covered his body for a quick second. Once it came close, he blocked the attacked and barely moved, looking as if the attack did nothing.

Seeing this, Ryu interest peaked. "So, he can change his status to survive in any situations? Now that is very interesting."

The world warrior rose to his feet and threw a Hadouken, only for Shulk to dodge it. The wielder of Monado saw another one coming and sliced it apart, only to yet another one behind it. He blocked it once again, and soon was flashing blue aura before he dashed to Ryu with insane speed, scoring a hit that caused him to head straight for Cloud.

The Ex-SOLDIER wasn't fast enough as he was hit with the Street Fighters body, leaving Joe the only one standing as he looked at Shulk.

"Well damn, your just full of surprises huh?" he asked as he began to walk to him. Shulk placed the sword on his shoulder and responded.

"Well you can thank that to Monado mostly. This weapon has helped me a lot."

"Really, well that good and all, but it's the man that behind the sword that I should fear, not the sword itself."

Joe's comment got to Shulk, making him hesitate. Seeing this, Joe decided to be fair and not take the chance to attack. Instead, he decided to do something that would even things up.

"To be honest, I really don't like swordsmen. Too damn many of them here if you ask me. Hell, I hate the whole 'This sword can do so and so, such and such' and all that. But if everyone is doing it…"

Joe extended his left arm, tightening his fist. As he did, a metal blade appeared from the forearm, extending to about two feet long.

"Then why can't I?"

With that said went into an offensive stance as Shulk got ready. Once he did, Joe covered himself in his electrical aura once again and blinked out of existence.

Shulk panicked but quickly regained his composure. As he did, something flash to him, an image of Joe coming to mind, his blade going straight for his gut.

The flash ended, and as soon as it did, he took a step to the side, as his vision became realty, only for Joe to miss.

Joe slid to a stop and Shulk saw his chance and took it, leaping forward with his sword at the ready.

"BACK SLASH!"

"Wha-"

Joe never finished as he felt surging pain from his back, the attack was so strong he crashed into the floor hard resulting in small crater.

He didn't stay done however, getting back to his feet and looking back at Shulk.

"How the hell were you able to react like that? I should have been too close for you to dodge." He questioned completely flabbergasted of how he was so easily outmaneuvered.

"I told you, the Monado helps me out a lot. Just so happens that one of the things it does for me is give me premonitions or visions. To be blunt; I saw your attack before it happened." Shulk explained.

Joe's face went a bit red with frustration. "So, you're a seer now? The hell man, this is just making me hate swordsmen more."

"Well it's not like I asked for it. It just happens."

"That's a dumb excuse if I ever heard any. Well you know what, fine. Even if you can see the future, I'm sure there's a limit. Let's go you 'That's so Raven' reject."

Joe got back in his stance, expecting Shulk to do the same. However, the Monado wielder only raised a brow from the comment. "What's 'That's so Raven'?"

"What, you mean you never saw it? Where did you grow up in a-" Joe stopped himself as he shook his head, deciding this was conversation for another time. "Forget it. Explaining that reference will take too long. Let's just get back to fighting."

The two resumed fighting as Joe clashed blades with Shulk once again.

As they continued their fight, James and Bayonetta battle continued to progress, as the Umbra Witch used a whip to gain hold of James's black arm, only for him to pull her closer.

She raised her foot and shot from her blue guns at him. He reacted fast, raising his sword and cut them away as the whip vanished, replaced with a scythe with three blades in her hands.

She took a swing at him, only to missed as James dodged.

Bayonetta raised her feet to fire off more shots, only to keep missing until he jumped away from her. Once he landed, Bayonetta performed more of her weaved attacks, sending another large fist at him.

Seeing this coming, James smirked as his black arm glowed.

The Umbra Witch saw this and was briefly confused until she saw why.

The large fist that she threw was stopped in its tracks, caught in the palms of another large hand, only this one was connected to a figure that looked to be upper body of Noir, a being that was in black, organic armor with arms similar to James's right arm. It's eyes and markings, however, radiated green aura as it looked to ethereal and made of energy.

It looked at Bayonetta, before throwing the hand aside and went straight towards her, prompting her to jump out of the way.

Once she was in a safe distance, she looked at the large figure and made a sly whistle.

"Now that's an impressive trick. I don't meet people that can summon something that can match one of Madama Butterfly's attacks often. I assume this is the famous Noir I heard about?"

James shook his head. "In a way yes and no. It's more or less his soul that I can manifest with my arm. I used it to get the drop on Graves last time, so it's been a while since I used it in a fight. Over the years though, I've been practicing summoning him without Golden Phantasm, and as you see, I succeeded."

"Really now? Well how about we let Noir and Madama have their own 'Dance' shall we?"

Catching on to what she was saying, James grinned with excitement as his black arm glowed brightly.

In retaliation Bayonetta's hair weaved together as it spiraled upwards, forming into a large figure.

The figure was a female demon of sorts with Butterfly traits, such as butterfly wings and headpiece. It had blue skin, spikes on the knuckles and red eyes. It also wore a thighs-split dress a little on the revealing side.

Not soon after, the light from James's arm shot to the sky, forming a full body version of the Noir from before. The black armor reached to its legs, markings being present there too. Its features were more defined, having a more muscular and well-built physique, sharp claws and lion face pauldrons and leg guards with green gems in their eyes. Its hair reached to its back, bathed in golden radiance, in a style similar to a lion's mane.

The sight of the large figures made all of the fighters, both in ring and the stands, to stare with a mix of shock and awe.

"Damn it, James. This is just a mock battle, not a real match. You're not supposed to take it seriously!" Joe shouted with a mixture of anger and envy as the two giants began their battle.

Madama began with a straight punch to the large Noir's face.

The punch was blocked by the astral figure catching it with its left hand, causing a shock wave from the clash and making the area around them shake.

Seeing that it had caught one of the hands, the large astral Noir tried to return the favor by sending its own right. As he did however, Madama decided to return the favor as she too caught his fist, which led to the area shaking once again.

Seeing an opportunity, James jumped on of Noir's head, staring down at Madama Butterfly, who looked up and return his gaze. As she did, something came out from her forehead, slowly reveling itself to be Bayonetta, with only strands of hair covering her important bits.

James looked at the Umbra Witch and kept his cool, though he felt his face getting a little heated. _'Thank god Faye isn't here right now, otherwise she would be killing me right now.'_

"Why James, do I sense a tinge of a blush up there? Don't tell me that you are shy around little ol' me now, are you?" the witch teased.

"Oh no, it's not that. It's just that, my wife would probably kill me right now for this. She told me to make sure that we wouldn't fight to the point where you'd undress yourself, but I enjoyed this too much and well…"

Bayonetta laughed at the explanation, making James stop talking and look back at her. "I didn't know you were married. No wonder you know how to treat a lady so well."

As the Umbra Witch continued to laugh, James too began to chuckle, and soon laugh with her. "Well it comes natural once you raise a family together. And truth be told, while Faye may be nice, I really don't think I can handle her once she gets angry."

Bayonetta's laugh began to die down, yet she still kept a smile on her face.

As she did, more hair came to cover her a bit more, covering her torso as only her arms and legs were revealed. "Well I wouldn't want to bring any trouble to a married couple's life, so how about we keep this a secret, okay."

James nodded to her as he readied his sword. Bayonetta did the same, holding her blades in her hands as their large figure's broke hands.

Madama took the initiative as she raised a leg to kick the astral figure, only for it to duck under her go for an uppercut. The hit landed on Madama's chin but it slid off as she countered with a shot to its ribs.

James held on as his astral guarding kept its balance and went for another punch, only to hit air as Madam moved to the side. It saw this coming however, and jumped to the side, hitting her with its shoulder. As it did though, the large butterfly demon disappeared as hundreds of butterflies flew from the spot where Madam once was. Seeing this, the astral Noir came to a stop as it turned around and saw Madama nowhere.

A dark shadow appeared above both James and his astral guarding, prompting them to look up.

There in the sky, in front of the moon, was Madama Butterfly flying in the sky with her wings spread out. She looked at them, her eyes blazing as she raised her fist, radiation with dark violate power. As it grew, Bayonetta voice was heard among the fighters.

"I heard a lot of stories about that right arms of yours James. Its power is strong enough to make Tabuu look like a joke from what I hear. Let's see how it does against Infernal Magic, shall we?"

The butterfly demon raised her fist, ready to attack. This prompted the astral figure of Noir to cocked back it's right hand, as James did the same.

"If that's what you want. Let's see what you got."

The black arm of James began to flare up with green, flame like energy, with the astral guarding doing the very same. The figure crouched down, ready to pounce once Madama began her attack.

And attack she did, as she flew down, fist at the ready. The Astral Noir leaped high in the air, sending a strong right.

Seeing this, the fighters got ready to brace themselves as the others in the stands got ready as they held on the safety bars, with Ike looking back and shouting. "Brace yourselves, this is going to be rough!"

Back in the air, the two figures got closer and closer, until, finally, their attack collided.

The clash of their blows resulted in a large shock wave that rang throughout the area, making the whole area shook. The rock plateau the fighters were on cracked, soon crumbling away from the attack. The attack was so great, that one wouldn't be wrong if they were to say that it could be felt outside the tournament itself.

Which unfortunately, they would be right…

* * *

In a room filled with darkness, a being sat on a chair, almost like that of a throne. Its thoughts, clear from all ideas as it unwinds from the toll of the day. Eyes closed, with its vision greeted by the beloved darkness that it is so fond off.

But suddenly, out of nowhere, something awoke inside it, lids opening to reveal violate glowing eyes.

"What… what was that?" it spoke with a tinge of fear on its voice. It turns its head to the west, feeling something oddly familiar.

Soon however, its eyes began to relax as it's form began to relax on the chair. The feeling it had died down, to the point where it couldn't feel it presence anymore.

 _'Must be my imagination. These accursed dreams seem to be getting to me more than I thought.'_

* * *

Back in the fight, James and Bayonetta hanged on as both Madama Butterfly and Astral Noir began to fade away. The two jumped off their respective titans and landed on the ground, which was now a grassy plain ad the rock plateau from before was nothing more but pebbles now.

"Well now, that was fun. It takes a lot to make Madama tap out from a fight. You really are quite something, James."

James dusted off some of the dirt that kicked up from the rock plateau being destroyed and looked back the Umbra Witch. "Why thank you. Now, how about we-"

Just then, James ducked under a blast. He turned and saw Joe with his arm cannon, flashing him a grin.

"Joe, I thought you were busy with Shulk?" James asked, as Joe's arm reverted back to its normal state.

"You think you could go ahead and fight with Daniel and Bayonetta but not me? There's no way in hell that I'm going to miss out on this."

"Oh really?" James replied, only for Joe to respond by covering himself in his electrical aura once again.

"Yeah, really."

Joe vanished and reappeared behind him aiming a punch with his metal arm.

He missed though, as James moved to the side and countered with a left uppercut to his jaw, sending Joe flying into the air only for him to counter with blast from his arm canon again.

On reflex, James used his right arm to shield himself from the blast and lowered it to be greeted by a red sword heading towards him.

Before it connected, James dodged as he looked to see Shulk with his Monado in his hands, before he raised it and went for another attack.

He parried with Golden Dawn, and countered with a kick to his abdomen, send him back. The Smash Champion took the time to look around and saw that the rest of the fighters were up, looking at him.

A smile came to his face as red energy covered his blade from the Eye of Dragoon.

"Alright then, come one, come all; the champion will be happy to take all of you at once if you feel like it."

With his declaration announced, the rest of the fighters did not hesitate as they all charged at him, with James doing the same as he held Golden Dawn tightly in both hands.

The first to strike was Simon, as he threw an ax toward that Smash Champion. It missed as his target slid under the attack and made a swipe with his sword, creating a large projectile slash that came for his opponents. As it got closer though, its targets all jumped out of the way, which allowed James to pursue them in the air.

Ryu tried to strike back as he launched a Hadouken, only for James to respond by slicing it and delivering a headbutt to the Worlds Warriors head, making him fall out of the air only for Simon to attack once more, this time with his Morning Star.

The spiked ball almost hit its target but James flared up power from his black him, maneuvering him to the right in order to dodge. Before the Belmont heir could react, James took out his Night Shooter and charged it with power, shooting a light green projectile that knocked Simon out of the sky.

With two of his opponents knocked out of the air, the Smash Champion looked around and didn't see anyone else as he landed on the ground. The second he did however, his senses picked up something as he turned around and raised his arm, blocking Shulk's attack as he knocked him back and finished with a heavy slash, sending the blonde back as he landed on his back.

Immediately after this though, James raised his sword to his left and black arm to the right as he blacked both Daniel and Bayonetta with their swords, attacking him from the sides.

The combined strength of both the Umbra Witch and the Heir of Legion were strong, but it was not enough to make James budge as he gathers power, green aura swirling around him as he pushed them off and followed up by stabbing the ground with the power of the Eye of Dragoon.

A small geyser of red energy shot up as it knocked both Daniel and Bayonetta away. As he did though, a surge of energy flared up behind him.

James turned to see Cloud; sword raised with blue energy swirling around him. The champion stared at him for a minute, then grinned as held his sword with both hands, red energy encasing his sword as his green aura began to radiate around him.

 _'At last the man that I have been waiting to fight. Let's see what you got Cloud.'_

The two men began to charge at one another as Cloud swung his Buster Sword only for it to clash with James Golden Dawn. The very impact of the two blades colliding crated sparks of blue and green, as the two continued their duel, with each strike met with another, ending in a stalemate of sorts.

Their clash came to an end when Cloud backed away and got into a stance, gathering more power as he tightened his grip on his blade. James looked at him and realized what was coming next as he got into a defensive stance.

Cloud moved in an amazing burst of speed, hitting James so hard that he was sent to the air.

James was relieved for taking the defensive option, as he was able to recover in the air. As he did, he saw Cloud moving forward to him in blinding speed, making him get ready for his strongest attack.

The first strike came with a sweep of the Buster Sword, which James countered by doing the same. The two turn to face each other as they began to move around the air, with both grace and ferocity.

* * *

"Wow, look at them go." Markus said with shock as he and the others continued to observe the battle in front of them.

Marth chuckle quietly as the fight raged on, looking over to Samus and Ike. "Now I see why James vouched for him. This Cloud must be good to keep up with James."

"If what I heard is true, then he should be." Ike added. "Master Hand told us that Cloud was the second-best swordsman in his world, and that if he was in some of the previous tournaments he might have gone far. Still, I am just curious if he will be able to push James to the point of getting serious."

Catching their conversation, Iniabi turned his head to both Marth and Ike. "Wait so James isn't going all out yet? How can you tell?"

"Oh, that because he hasn't transformed yet." Answered Kimchi. "James gained some new abilities after the previous tournament, some of them being unique transformations. So far, we only saw him use a few other times since then, so it's rare to see these days."

"Do you think he might use them in this fight."

"Well, I'm sure he's considering using at least one form. If he does, then things will be getting a lot more interesting." Kimchi replied with an excited smile.

On the other side of the stands, leaning on the wall in the shadows, a pair of yellow eyes watched the mock battle, giving it her full concentration.

 _'To think that there were people like this here. Guess it really wasn't a waste of time to be here.'_

She looked up and saw the boy she met earlier on the other side of the stand, talking to a girl dressed similar to him.

She rolled her eyes a bit, feeling irritated upon seeing him. _'Looks like that dork is here too. And look, he found a new friend. Hopefully she can keep that jerk busy long enough to keep him away from me.'_

Another sound of swords clashing snapped her out of her thoughts as she returned her attention back to the fight. The light the emanating from the battle was enough to cut away the shadows, revealing the girl to be Xolette, the girl who had met James, Marth and Iniabi from earlier.

 _'Seems this fight is reaching its end.'_

* * *

"HA!"

Both men shouted as their final clash resulted in so much force it separated them, leading to them to land on the ground, skidding briefly until they reached a full stop.

Cloud looked at the Champion, tired and out of breath from their air scuffle. He was surprised to see that James was fine, the only evidence of their battle being the sweat running down the side of his face.

 _'This guy is strong. If he was in SOLDIER, he would be first class easy.'_

Catching his breath, Cloud braced himself for another round until two shadows jumped above his head. He raises his head and saw both Joe and Daniel charging towards James.

Joe took the first shot as he fired his arm canon at him, only to miss as James leaped towards him. He swung at Joe, but his sword was intercepted by Daniel's blade instead, who pushed him back.

James was quick to recover though, as well as his two friends, landing on their feet.

He looked at both of them with a grin, relaxing his sword on his shoulder. "So, you two want to try teaming up against me, huh? Got tired of waiting one at a time?"

A chuckle escaped Joe's lips as he scratched the bridge of his nose. "Yeah, well that's half right."

Seeing their friend raise a brow in response, Daniel spoke up to further explain. "We want you to take things up a notch. It's about time we get to see more of what Noir left you, as well as find out just how strong we are."

"Oh? You mean the transformations?" James answered a bit warily. "I don't know guys, Master Hand wanted me to save those for the tournament. It would also be a bit overkill to be honest."

"Tch." Joe responded in annoyance. "Then how about that golden form you used? Would that be better you cocky bastard?"

Upon hearing this, an imaginary light bulb went off on top of James's head. "The Golden Phantasm? Well, that could work." A grin formed on his face as his arm began to shine from green to gold.

The other fighters in the area stepped back as the light began to grow brighter, until it enveloped his body and a large beam of light soared to the sky.

"What is this?" Elizabeth asked in both shock and awe.

Kimichi looked at her with a smug smirk. "This is one of the transformations I talked to you about. It's-"

"Golden Phantasm." Interrupted Mantis as he stared at the golden pillar while ignoring Kimchi, who shot him a glare. "If memory serves, this was the form he used when he tapped into a small portion of Noirs's power. It was the very thing that gave him an advantage over him in their fight."

Ethan turned to young man with a curious expression. "You're awfully informed, huh? What else do you know, James's shoe size?"

His words however didn't reach Mantis, seeing he gave his full attention to James's transformation. If he looked just a bit closer, he would have noticed that the young man's hands were balled up and shaking.

* * *

Back in the realm of darkness, the figure sat on his chair as before, eyes closed as he rested. His mind was free and empty, with nothing to bother him or distract him from obtaining the sleep he so desired, but right when he was about enter in that realm, something happened. Something appeared out of nowhere. Something that he remembers vividly.

A pillar of golden arose, reaching so high that it kissed the very heavens themselves and out of that pillar stood a figure, a being that radiated its golden ambiance. His eyes bared down on him, as the feeling of hatred and fury began to build up. Darkness spread from him, as if to counter the golden man's light, only for it to be stalemated.

He remembered who this man was. He remembers where last they met and fought. He even remembers his very name.

Awaken from his sleep, the man stood from his chair and gave out an echoing shout.

"NOIR!"

* * *

The power that radiated from James grew immensely as he began to transform to his Golden Phantasm state. Its golden flow had a warm and welcoming feel to it, as if it was something that was just right for him. However, there was something similar to a bit of nostalgia to it, something lost yet familiar.

Just then something came to him, something dark and cold. A pair of eyes appeared in his head, glaring at him with malice, hatred and contempt. The shadows began to grow, reaching for him until it stopped, matched only by his light.

Enraged, the shadowy figure gave a powerful shout with all its might.

"NOIR!"

Immediacy the light stopped as James fell to his knees, panting hard. Everyone looked at this with confusion, surprised and perplexed as to what just happened.

Daniel was the first to rush to his side, checking on him. "James, are you OK?"

He looked at him, sweat pouring down his face as he still tried to catch his breath. "No Daniel, I don't think I am."

Joe was next to speak as he rushed to his friend's side. "Hey what the hell happened? You were going gold one second and the next you're not."

Slowly rising to his feet, James looked at both his friends. "Guys, I don't know what it is, but I have a bad feeling that something is going to go wrong."

* * *

The dark figure exhaled loudly, with evidence of rage still hanging from his voice.

 _'That power. It felt like Noirs. But how, he is suppose to be dead.'_

His thoughts ran wild, cluttered with the emotions of shock, rage and even terror. Slowly however he was able to regain his composure, and began to think clearly.

 _'Wait. Despite it feeling like Noir's, it felt small, practically slivers or embers of his power. But why?'_

Soon a thought occurred to him, one that made him came up with his own answer. _'Shade. That right, Shade did survive that day. He might have took what remained of his son gained what little power from it. But still, why reveal himself now of all times?'_

Met with another perplexing thought, he soon up with a decision to handle the matter. He turned his head to the side and call for someone.

"Variel!"

He didn't need to wait long, as a figure within the shadows soon appeared. However, what was strange about this one, was that it stood on the ceiling, looking at the dark figure.

"You called, my lord." The figure now known as Variel said, in a somewhat sultry female voice.

"Prepare the Faux soldiers and get the gate ready. We are going to send them out."

This confused Variel, as she descended from the ceiling and landed on her feet, kneeling before her lord. "But sir, for what reason would you want to do that? Please, enlighten me."

The dark figure stared at her for a moment before he answered. "I felt a presence. One that I have not felt since our time back home."

"Who's presence, my lord?"

Going quiet for a second, her lord slowly walked to her and spoke.

"Noirs."

Variel's eyes grew wide upon hearing that name and his hands clenched. "Just say where my lord and it will be done."

The figure rose from his seat as he walked by her. "No need. I will give out the directions myself. It's faint, but i can feel the location of his last presence."

His follower nodded as she sank to the ground, vanishing completely. Assured that she would be following him, the dark figure went towards to his destination, accompanied by his thoughts. _'Noir. Shade. In the end it truly doesn't' matter who it is. If they're weak then they are nothing to worry about. If they survive though, then surely, they will come here if they get the message. Either way: I will know who they are and their connections to Noir.'_

* * *

Once he regained his composure, James walked to the other fighters as he sheathed his blade. "I am sorry everyone. I don't know what happened back there."

"It's quite alright, James." Responded Bayonetta. "You most likely just got exhausted, There's no shame in that"

After saying that, the Umbra Witch noticed that the group from the stands was heading towards them. "Well looks like your friends would like a word with you."

Among the group, Ethan was the first to question James as he walked to him. "What happened back there? I never saw you just fade out like that."

"I really don't know. First, I was getting ready to transform, and then next thing I know I see a figure covered in shadows glaring at me."

August arched an eyebrow to this. "A figure in shadows? Did anything else happened?"

James thought for a second and soon he recalled something. "Actually, yeah. When he looked at me, he yelled out-"

His words were interrupted however as he felt something coursing right through him, something similar to the darkness and the icy cold he felt before.

Shulk noticed this as well and was going to say something until he felt something flash in his mind.

As he did this though, Eliza looked at the two and back at her sister. "Kimchi, is something-"

Just then a flash of white went through her eyes, making her nearly step back for a moment until it passed. Once it did, she had a look of utter horror, which was only matched by Shulk's face.

The two looked at one another then towards James, who seemed to understand what they were trying to say as they all looked at the group.

"Everyone, get out now!"

The group stared at them, confused about their sudden outburst. As they did though, a black portal manifested from above, making them all lift their head.

Out of the portal came a small group of figures that fell to the ground. Slowly they began to stand, revealing their appearance.

They stood to be about six feet tall, their bodies covered in what looked to be violet organic armor, with cracks being present on some of their bodies. Despite that, they looked to be well built and strong physically, with their eyes giving a faint glow of red with sharp fangs and claws.

Slowly they looked around and saw the group, staring at them. No one moved, dumbstruck at what they were seeing. The pair of eyes on them scanned them all, up until they saw James and more importantly, his black arm.

"Nooooooir," they echoed as they marched towards James and the others, black vapors of energy trailing behind them.

Looking at the monsters before him, James took out his sword and looked around to see that everyone else was getting ready for battle.

He turned back to the creatures before him as he gripped his sword tighter.

 _'This will not end well.'_


	5. Update please read

Hey Guys, it me. Sorry for being silent for over a month. I am making a quick update to explain a few things.

First, the story is still going to continue. I didn't mean to not update for a while, as something happened at the beginning of May that gave me a bad start for the summer. My basement flooded with water and destroyed some of the items down there. Now this has happened before when there were massive rainstorms that happed around my area. Back then the damage was minimal, and it was a quick fix. This time though, that major difference that instead of rainwater, it was sewage water.

The damage from the water was very severe this time, so much so that not only a good deal of clothes down was deemed unwearable, but there was a mold on all of the walls as well. Luckily the insurance was able to help with the damages and even offer up some money to replace all the damages products, but that was just the beginning of the ordeal. All of the things downstairs had to be moved in order to get rid of the carpet. There was help from another company, but they kind of made things worse as they actually destroyed a good deal of things such as the bookshelf, the AC coolant (basically that part that push the hot air out and allow cool air in) and a few other things. It took a while, but eventually, the basement was able to get clean enough to lay down the new carpet. That was the final hurtle to deal finished as me and a few others had to move things outside for it, and then later back in once it was done.

All that led up to now, where, after over a month, the basement is finished and everything is done, or at least almost. So far, I am still waiting for the pay of all of the damages and I still need to move a few things down there until its officially done, but so far that it. Again, I am sorry that I wasn't able to update the story for the month. Like I said before, I am still going to work on it, I just had to get this mess out of the way first. I will update it as soon as possible, so until then, have a happy summer and see you later.


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